Trump is a failed real estate developer running our country. What could go wrong?
64
Something has already gone wrong: Obama stirred up this mess and President Trump is doing his best in an effort to clean it up. The Obama administration was the naive participant in this dangerous fiasco.
4
Under Obama, things were improving with Iran. American businesses starting dealing with Iranian businesses and there were more positive statements about the US from Iranian leaders. The inept, corrupt Trump has totally messed up- just like George W. Bush did with Iraq. Do more US soldiers now have to die?
14
@Confused
And which president lied about invading Iraq in 2003?
13
Hawkish Republicans are seathing because they had helped Iran gain its current political clout in Iraq by invading Iraq in 2003 and toppling Saddam Hussein.
Since then Iran has wielded vast influence over its client state, and with its troops' withdrawal in 2011, the US has lost influence to Iran in recent years.
Does the presene of US troops in Iraq have a stabilising effect on the region? It doesn't look like it. Perhaps Washington should leave the region to its players to sort out their differences.
4
...and the very soul of our beloved country, also. Wishing you, and all America, a Trumpless Peace in the New Year.
7
Are Iraqis allies that we shouldn't abandon?
And now Congress wants to put sanctions on China because of its treatment of muslims.
1
“I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me..
— Donald Trump, Nov, 2015
That, and many other ignorant statements, should have kept Trump out of the White House. Now, an ignorant, ego-driven, Commander-in-Chief is at the helm and we wonder if his military decisions will be intelligent strategy or politically motivated base pandering. As the 2020 vote approaches, this fear will only amplify. Our adversaries know this too.
9
I can’t help but think about the most terrible deal in the history of mankind, according to Trump in his effort to obliterate President Obama’s legacy of prosperity and peace for both the US and Iran. At least everyone seemed to be playing by the accord’s rules and thriving. The obvious hope / plan was for Iran to understand the benefits and then extend them.
But our great and powerful leader functions on the principles of hate, revenge, ignorance and an unmitigated inferiority complex.
7
Have either former President Jimmy Carter or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered any wise counsel to President Trump regarding the defense of US Embassies ?
5
Like I wrote here for years; Television will blow up the world.
News websites don't get me upset. That is to your advantage.
1
No need to worry, dt and his crack foreign policy team are all over this.
We can all sleep easily knowing he’s got a plan in mind...to tweet. And bluster. And lie.
9
Whoops, Trump and his gang did it again. Another impulsive sudden move and now its us not Iran that is the bad guy. Gave the Kurds to Turkey, bases to Russia, and now bailed out Iran.
Decide to bomb Iraq with out even letting the Iraq government know.Probably made the decision on the 4th hole at Mar Largo.
9
Trump created this by reneging on the JCPOA when Iran was in full compliance as per the US and other signers, then making it all but impossible for the other signers to hold to their end of the bargain by threatening sanctions against them, and then adding crippling sanctions to create unrest in Iran, and attacking Iran by tweet and via the pathetic war hawks that he has appointed. who want to bomb, bomb, bomb - play soldier from the safety of their secure facilities and sacrifice millions in lives and riches for their self-aggrandizing games.
He doesn't want a war? So why do everything to create a volatile situation including puerile tweets and bully-boy behavior. The world is not the small pond of real-estate where it's possible to cow, coerce and convince people into submission with impunity.
Has he cottoned onto that yet. Doesn't seem so.
Another dangerous problem created by the Trump admin hubris, ignorance and arrogance.
8
Nobody ever seems to have laid hands on Trump so that he appreciates what fighting really is about. He struts around talking tough and displaying like an alpha type but he does not seem to take retaliations seriously. Iran is hurting but is not seeking relief but retaliating instead.
5
The occupant of the white house will do whatever is most beneficial to Russia. In every move he has made the ultimate winner is Russia.
9
There are always always comments about how the USA Federal Military needs to "get out of this country or that" and how we need to "control North Korea". There's just no end to the New York Times Readers expertise in foreign affairs and military excursions. Obama's "deal with Iran" may have made things worse by postponing the inevitable and BTW was an abject example of Presidential Bribery for the impeachment crowd. But every president does the best they can. Had Hilary been president the Americans at the embassy in Iraq could easily have been abandoned and left for dead - Benghazi style.
2
Are we tired of winning yet?
2
Trump is a joke and Iran knows it. Who will fight with him? I can only see Saudi Arabia and that would be tantamount to suicide. I know Russia will support Iran and i can see China throwing support their way. The reality is that Trump is powerless. That the American public will not support this war. And that are used to be allies will not engage Iran on a lie or a whim. In the end this is a distraction that proves that madame Pelosi and his impeachment have him running scared. Could it be that Republican support for him is fading? And that he might actually be removed from office and possibly incarcerate...
4
Iran’s mullahs and their army of revolutionary thugs bear an uncanny resemblance to some well known fictional arch nemesis and a certain fiery mountain. As in fiction, It will take the combined effort of allied forces to bring them down.
For the sake of the Iranian people and their Mid East neighbors...the sooner the better.
I thought we had a treaty with Iran.
When I apply for a job, they want a CV; and they question me to get an idea of who I am, my familiarity with the job I will be doing and to assess my ability to do the job.
By comparison, a person running for President of the U.S., the most powerful position on the planet, apparently can win the job just by talking stupid on the campaign trail....
7
"You can't do anything."
Honestly, I burst out laughing when I saw that headline this morning. It's funny, because it's true. On about 400 levels.
Your move, dotard.
7
More confusion and ineptitude from Trump and his stooges. Duh! Now, tell me again about the history of Iraq and Iran and where exactly are they?
3
Dictator Trump has more troops in Mid East than Obama did; with no State Department to negotiate Peace. Bully Trump has one tune on his Nero's Fiddle;"My way or the Highway". Republican Pres resort to war to pull themselves out of the morass they mire themselves in. Trump sent 4500 Airborne troops; war around the corner. Rally round the flag boys; war's a comin.
5
Want to escape entanglement in the Middle East? Get the heck out of Saudi Arabia and Israel.
6
Donald is playing the fool as usual. Iran suckers him into killing 24 Iraqis, and in one fell swoop Trump turns sentiment against USA and for Iran. Trump is just a befuddled old man. And Iran and their Russian pals are taking over Middle East and its oil. Iran will soon be in a position to demand end of sanctions as the price of keeping oil flowing. Sad, as he would say.
3
By all means let's kill some more people in response to these protests, because that has certainly worked out so well in the past./s/
2
The US has never accepted the reality that Southern Iraq (Basra) has always been aligned with Iran. In fact that region should never have been part of Iraq in the first place.
The fact that Iraq has many Shiite militias that are only nominally controlled by the govenment puts the US in the position of deciding which ones we will label as "controlled" by Iran. The US already fought this war. Will it start over?
2
I don’t know why, but from a distance I’m under the impression that Mr. Trump is selling the U.S. military to the highest bidder
5
Iran appears to be the Trump/Pompeo war of choice. It feels like we are back in the Bush/Cheney Administration. It doesn't seem that the GOP has moved forward at all on Middle East policy. I really do not want any more American blood spilled on any battlefield in that part of the world. Too many American military lives have been destroyed here. Enough!
2
The entire world knows that Trump is a bumbling fool who is too erratic to be respected or feared. The world, especially our enemies, are laughing at us.
4
In my opinion, the greatest single threat in the M.E. is that the U.S. will not act with sufficient boldness to restrain expansionist Iran from continuing its buildup of offensive missile inventories in countries surrounding Israel and neighboring Saudi Arabia, which are designed to checkmate these countries and eventually defeat them militarily. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as contrasted to the regular Iranian military, are akin to the Nazi S.S. They are beholden to and allied with the most extreme Mullahs whose purpose in life is to exact revenge against the Sunni Saudi leadership and the State of Israel which they repeatedly threaten to exterminate.
For the past several years, the Revolutionary Guards have been deploying surface to surface missiles in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, pointed towards Israel and the Saudis. While (not yet) armed with nuclear warheads, they nevertheless will represent a mortal threat if in sufficient numbers and sophistication.
Iran is nearly 10 times the size of Israel, with nearly 10 times the population. Israel cannot tolerate being encircled by Iran, and has been fighting back hard. However, should Iran accomplish its military goals, and subsequently launch catastrophic missile strikes, Israel may suffer such unacceptable damage and casualties that it will be forced to threaten (and possibly use) nuclear weapons as a last resort.
This risk will endure for as long as the Revolutionary Guards remain in power. It's a long-term risk.
1
Focus people. He is trying to distract you by creating a threat in another area.
This is what we need to focus on to get rid of him and Pence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/politics/trump-ukraine-military-aid.html
2
Another chicken hawk rattling his plastic saber willing to sacrifice your boys and girls for his own aggrandizement. Congratulations, America. You'd better start looking for neutral countries you can naturalize your children to if you want to save them from this empty headed megalomaniac and his followers.
5
Iraqis attack our Embassy and who is to blame? Iran. Who is really to blame? Our incompetent arrogant man child of a president.
He is desperate to be a “war” president. He doesn’t care what war or with whom. He just wats a WAR! He wants, wants, wants it.
5
So transparently obvious Trump wants a war with Iran so he can preen before his oblivious cult as a "wartime" President.
4
Trump, in his gross ignorance, is handing Iraq over to Iran. And Syria. And Lebanon. Trump is a great liar, and a bold thief, but he is completely outmatched by our skilled and intelligent adversaries on the world stage when it comes to diplomacy.
3
Another article asks why has the US become the target of Iraqi anger...?
Really? Are we really asking this question? Its akin to asking, "Why 9-11?" "Why the USS Cole?"" Why the Beirut Embassy?"
Trump and his Diplomatic Clown Circus are playing such a short-game, that they are belligerently unraveling the modicum amount of containment (of anger, unrest, anti-Americanism,etc) in Iraq, and the general vicinity, attained the last several years. Fragility is what he inherited, but he's a bull on steroids in the china shop.
Due to his reality TV psyche, and the social media sycophancy he relishes, Trump SOP all about winning "the play" in the moment. Made worse by the enabling of his staff. As such "they" are pushing the US, its allies and dependents, towards a late 4th quarter loss of the game.
Trump has no long game, unless its pushing his value and self-worth higher. If he cant see an immediate win, in the moment, he's not interested. As such our foreign entanglements are not truly being cared for, certainly not handled by professionals, or those dedicated to US interests.
Instead we're seeing deliberate deterioration of various institutions, or sycophancy to Trump/ism being the main influences.
Iraq (and Afghanistan) is a glaring example of our arrogance and a collective ADD. And Trump and Company, will never be a positive fix, or bandaid in these matters.
1
"But on Tuesday the White House said Mr. Trump spoke by telephone with Iraq’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi,...."
Did that conversation being with "Do me a favor...."
Now... back to the golf course.
2
"Why did the U.S. become the focus of Iraqi anger?" Another really stupid question, that denies our lying, illegal, immoral war on them. Why wouldn't they be angry? Look what we've done to them.
2
It’s looking like Trump wants a war before th election.
In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran.
~Trump Nov 29, 2011
Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.
~Trump Oct. 9, 2012
Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected--be careful Republicans!
~Trump Oct. 22, 2012
Barack Obama will attack Iran in the not too distant future because it will help him win the election
~ Trump Nov 14, 2011 (repeated 14X)
https://www.salon.com/2019/05/17/trump-warned-us-a-desperate-president-would-attack-iran-to-win-re-election/
5
The simple fact that trump childishly tweeted, ‘The Anti-Benghazi!’ tells us all we need to know.
What a reckless fool this man-child is. We are the laughing stock of the universe.
3
Iran “will be held fully responsible” for demonstrators’ attack on the American Embassy in Baghdad, President Trump said on Tuesday.Credit...
So...Did we ever win Iraqi hearts, 'N, minds, after 17+ years??
And...How has the search, for... / reverse_engineering, of...Iraqi's (IMAGINARY) N.-W.M.D.'s, gone??
1
So what has the draft dodger been doing? Trump knows all the answers and questions, so what is going on in the halls of the White House now? Who is in charge? who is being held accountable?
Now is the time to show the American people your inability to do anything but bomb and act tough or you could act in the best interest of this country not Russia or the Saudi's.
Oh I forgot, Trump hired the disgraced Navy Seal to be your mouthpiece going forward. A draft dodger and a murderer, working together I see the trembling of Iran already. Rambo meets the real world again with approved murder.
1
America’s oil police on the roof of the embassy says it all, peering through their expensive binoculars at the natives that they subjugate, sucking the natural resources from the colony as any 19th century colonial power would have done, and led by a dictator that is an empty suit. Follow the money, Bush went there to ensure we get a share of their oil- and spilled America’s blood and treasure for nothing? American empire at its best (or worst.)
1
The stupid decision to invade Iraq ranks up there with the stupid decision to get involved in Vietnam. Sadly, nobody ever learns, especially politicians.
2
I wish our democratic candidates would clearly state how they would deal with Iran. I understand that they all want to disagree with Trump in some way, but none, other than Bernie, have clearly articulated a Middle East strategy. Additionally, the debate moderators have not held their feet to the fire on this issue.
3
@david
What someone says/promises on the campaign trail, doesn't necessarily turn into reality once he/she gets in. Nothing is easier, than blaming the previous administration's misguided policies that 'thwarted what I promised to do".
Been there, saw that, more, than once.
A Democrat did have a plan in place for dealing with Iran, remember? I’m sure that you didn’t like Obama’s approach but his plan and agreement with Iran did have the support of nuclear security experts. Now Trump comes into office, tears up the old plan for dealing with Iran without replacing it with any real plan of his own, and now you’re criticizing Democrats for not having a plan???
2
Now is the time to watch ARGO, a true story about the Iranian hostage situation in the 70s. Great acting, fantastic cast and very enlightening. Iran is not the enemy.
1
Trump #1 mistake: Pulling out of Iranian Treaty
Trump #2 mistake: Placing extreme sanctions on Iran after pulling out of the treaty
Trump #3 mistake: Disengaging with allies
What exactly was this strategy and how has it made the US more secure?
10
@Bob: Temper tantrums have worked for Trump in the private sector.
4
"Trump Warns Iran as Risk of Wider Armed Conflict Grows".
It's not Trump the Iranians need to worry about; he's got the resolve of a flag in a wind. What they need to worry about is the people he's surrounded himself with who could convince him to start a wider conflict in the middle east.
3
I doubt that what we are witnessing today would have occurred if Trump had spent as much time on the Iran issue as he had on the Ukraine non-issue. Rather than holding Iran accountable, he should look in a mirror .
And finally, I wish someone could convince Trump that tweeting is not diplomacy. If he had spent as much time conferring with leaders as he did tweeting, we probably would not be in this new mess today.
8
The militias are Iraqi and under Iraqi command. In effect, the US attacked the Iraqi army. That is why the Iraqi government responded so strongly.
Iran is not the source of the conflict. That is a diversion that fails to face the facts.
We can solve a problem if we don't even acknowledge what the problem is.
2
The president speaks brashly yet packs a tiny stick. It is a fact that in the business world negotiating parties wield threats and prefer settling things at some point,rather than declaring all out war.
In the context of international diplomacy, the game becomes more unpredictable because of dozens of countries potentially involved in any outcome, for instance the Iran nuclear or the Paris climate change accords,two American missteps that produced no positive quid pro quo for the president.
President Trump has shown a preference for unpredictability in his conduct of international diplomacy, surprising his counterparts with agressive commercial tarrifs, betraying staunch allies overnight ,showing reluctance to retaliate after the Iranian attack on a strategic Saudi oil complex, endlessly bickering with the USA's Nato allies.
No sooner had he announced he was ordering 1000 American troops out of Syria, he was sending 3000 to Saudi Arabia,thus increasing American military presence in the region while claiming the opposite.
The Iraq situation entirely engineered by several American presidents over 30 plus years, offers an opportunity to mr Trump: let Iraqis decide their own destiny. For mr Pompeo to declare that the USA are there to guarantee the independence of Iraq is beyond cynical.
3
An excellent response from Trump: reinforce the embassy with and extra 125 troops, order 4000 rapid reaction forces to the area and both publicly and behind the scenes make clear that any escalation will be a disaster for Iran. The resultm the angry “mobs”, I.e. Iranian militias melt away from the embassy without a bullet fired.
1
@michaelf The Iraqi protesters withdrew because they got a promise from the Iraqi prime minister to support expelling all US forces.
There is no reporting that supports the fantasy that the US military had any role in getting those Iraqi's to pull back from the embassy.
3
@michaelf
you believe 4125 troops will stem the tide of history ? the Middle East is lost: that will be Trump's legacy.
2
Trump would not attack Iran because they are allied with Russia and he would never go again Putin. That’s why Ayatollah Khamenei said he can’t do anything.
There was no reaction to the attacks on the Saudi oil facilities although it’s not clear who did that. It could also have been Iraqi militias which would have made it difficult to retaliate against the Iraq, the US “ally”.
Trump having his hands tied makes for an awkward situation for Israel. Also Israel would be vulnerable in a US attack on Iran.
All this is a lot trickier than cheating on taxes in NY by inflating real estate costs and passing on the fake costs to renters.
5
The Iranian dictators are already at war with the United States ...no amount appeasement will change that.
Thanks to President Trumps policies we are able to defend ourselves and promote peace and prosperity around the world.
1
@obummer
you failed to mention Trump has provided Iran the opportunity to re-start its nuclear program and separate the US from its Western partners in the treaty deal; establish control of the Syrian countryside; solidify its grip on Iraq; reinforce Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon; clear an overland route from Baghdad to Damascus; push Iran into the embrace of Putin; isolate Israel; focus on the overthrow the Saudi royals with its sorry excuse of a military and capture the oil in the East without fear of US retaliation.
if this is your idea of asserting US interests, I 'll take appeasement .
3
It’s noteworthy that soldiers who’ve witnessed war and all its atrocities are the ones who are prudent about using military force. And those who haven’t - like the President et al - are so quick to chose it.
4
According to Vali Nasr, the Trump Administration attacked militias in Iraq without notifying or asking the Iraqi government for permission to make the attacks. The people killed or injured in the attacks were Iraqis. No wonder the Iraqis are angry. Trump's gunboat diplomacy is, for Iran, the gift that keeps on giving.
5
@PeterE
Obama did the same with the bin Laden operation without the Pakistanis knowledge.
It's a pattern.
Just like he pulled troops out of Syria without notifying our allies there. His understanding of foreign policy is nonexistent.
2
To make sense out of Trump’s Iran policy which is both threatening but war adverse, you have to look to Trump’s elemental motivators.
Trump staked his political career as the anti-Obama. Obama crafted his name sake healthcare legislation, so Trump has to destroy it, with the health of millions risked as collateral damage. Obama sought to place the US in the forefront of climate change activism, and so Trump ripped up the Paris Accords. Ditto TPP. Ditto the Iran nuclear deal.
Obama also looked at Saudi Arabia’ s potential alliance as a pathway to peace with suspicion. Trump’s views the Kingdom through “green” colored glasses; he has bragged about his personal enrichment and the Saudi purchase of American armaments.
Obama’s politics and policies seemed to bring little or elusive progress; his “fatal flaw” was that he planned for the long term, and thus the success of his policies are difficult to assess.
Trump proudly wears his flaws on his sleeve. But what makes him particularly unfit for the office of President is that his policies serve his predetermined beliefs or political ambitions rather than the end result of rigorous analysis. These predetermined biases may emanate from Fox or conspiracy theories or Putin or a gaggle of ego stroking yes men.
Yes, he is justly wary of reckless military entanglements, but if negotiations don’t produce immediate photo ops and “greatest deal ever” bragging rights, he can care less. For Trump the future is Election Day 2020.
5
“Many analysts said Iran had thrown the Trump administration on its heels…and the risk of wider conflict.”
The risk of a wider conflict is very likely because Trump doesn’t understand military defense.
Trump: "So a general gets on and he said, 'Mr. Trump doesn't understand. He knows nothing about defense.' I know more about offense and defense than they will ever understand. Believe me! Believe me!”
4
Trump has taken great care to make sure he has eliminated all the safety nets put in place by Obama and our allies in order to bash Obama or think he's punishing him. Then when it backfires he panics and basically puts the same policy back in place, calls it something else and takes credit for it. Trump is not mature or intelligent enough to be POTUS. He really needs to go, and fast.
8
This article is war propaganda.
Americans need to understand that the economic sanctions imposed unilaterally by the US on Iran are an act of war that are inflicting considerable suffering on the Iranian people.
These sanctions, imposed in defiance of the international community and a nuclear deal signed by the US with Iran, are what has propelled this recent escalation. Any resulting wider war must be understood to be the consequence of the actions of the US under Trump's leadership.
In condemning Trump for his reluctance to use force, this article reflects the belligerent attitude of the bipartisan foreign policy establishment that has long been hungry for war with Iran.
But Trump's reluctance to see the US dragged even further into the continuing disaster it created when it invaded Iraq in 2003 is really the only thing good about his foreign policy.
Trump was elected in part because he correctly understood that the American people are sick to death of of these wars without end.
The real danger right now is that Trump may authorize actions further escalating the situation for fear of being perceived as "weak." This article and similar attacks are clearly crafted precisely to manipulate Trump's narcissism and fragile masculinity to produce just such an outcome.
Americans must get into the streets now to protest these attempts to march us off to war again.
3
The last couple of weeks sure make it look like the US is acting like an occupying power maybe slightly in the mold of the Soviet Union in the 60s but actually more comparable to Great Britain’s occupation of India. The people of Iraq don’t want the US there, Mr President- why not leave like you keep saying? Why are we putting our soldiers in harm’s way? Surely it couldn’t be that “the Iraq war [was] largely about oil”, as Alan Greenspan said in 2008? Don’t we have enough fracking going on that obviates the need to be in the Middle East at all?
1
how is it possible a superior technological state with state of the art weapon systems with a future space force is incapable of instilling fear on a backwards theocracy?
Yet another reason to get rid of Trump. And another populist like Sanders is not the solution. If we're going to eliminate evil doers in the middle east, we're going to need a president who is comfortable with the authority to wage war. Indeed, a president who can harness our media to campaign for the needed regime changes, not only in the Middle East, but all places which are inimical to global capitalism. Russia, Venezuela and North Korea will need to watch their backs.
mr. trump's foreign policy will cut him in many ways:
1) US can show the power to kill many people with arms that will anger more people for more violence
2) US military will also be tired of killing people and destructing the economy of desperate people
3) both above items are subject to isolation of once considered a powerful country
4) in this environment of chaotic US policies, our allies are confused and will draw back to support US and its policies for the global stability
Trump called Iraq, and the fighters were called off. It's clear this president isn't perceived as weak.
1
@AACNY 6es it's true, Trump is not perceived as week. He's perceived as a clown that knows nothing of middle east history, or American history for that matter and as someone that has absolutely no foreign diplomacy plan. He's a 2 year old boy in the oval office.
6
@AACNY
You give me this and I'll give you that.
Weakness / strength has nothing to do with it.
2
Iran has been a true foe of the US for more than 40 years, unlike the others we actually went to war against. But maybe we act smart like the Chinese, and hit Iran only economically (sanctions) while ignoring their provocations and not going to war. Maybe Trump is wise on this one.
Iran's leverage over Trump: Trump will do what's best for Trump and that means no war with Iran. Trump will tweet threats then quietly acquiesce like he did with North Korea, Turkey, and Russia.
1
The utter incompetence of this administration is clearly on display. The "shoot-first, plan-later" approach bespeaks no forethought of potential ramifications for any action taken, and only serves to demonstrate an incoherent foreign policy from both bottom up, and top down, (the latter to be expected).
3
Hard to take anyone seriously when they use Twitter to attempt to make a point. More empty Tweeting ...
1
Iran is a rogue nation sowing terror across the region and at some point will cross a redline and unlike with Obama and Syria there will be consequences. Trump is not weak but rather cautious and patient. The U.S. will not tolerate much more. The far left hopes the U.S. and its allies will fail to contain Iranian ambitions but its on a collision course with a power if unleashed will devastate their regime.
“To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!” Mr. Trump implored on Twitter as demonstrators set up camp at the gates of the American Embassy in Iraq’s capital.
What is he tweeting about? Time for what? Elections, demonstrations, attacks...
Freedom he tweets. What is freedom Trump style?
These insane messages can hardly be understood by people in this country, his consiglieres or himself let alone the rest of the world.
He may be hesitant to go to war which I concur but his complete lack of different cultures, politics and semantics is shameful.
Twitter has refused to shut his accounts. Not to be annoyingly repetitive but it is high time to boycott twitter.
2020 Dump trump, ditch Mitch, can flim flam graham
1
We had a peace deal with this country that Trump blew up simply because it had been Obama’s accomplishment. Now he’s painted himself into a corner with his aggressive incompetence. Knowledge, credibility and expertise actually do matter in world affairs.
3
Both Iraqi and Iranian leaders are playing Trump as the incompetent fool they know him to be. Both countries leaderships are 3 or 4 or 5 steps ahead of wherever his addled mind has gone. It's also more volatile because the two countries are playing chess with each other, something Trump has no clue as to what that means.
Our best hope for getting through this one without casualties is for the few remaining coherent officials who can reach him to convince him not to do anything dumber than where he's already gone.
3
I hear all "trump this" and "trump that" and it's all "trumps fault".
What I dont hear is any proposed solutions from the hater/blamers. Just what do YOU think the solution is RIGHT NOW. Dont say get trump out of office. Tell me what we should do. Stay in Iraq, get out of Iraq. And tell me why and what the future ramifications will be. I would like to hear your proposed solutions to the situation as it currently is and how that will make it better for everyone on the long run. I'm listening.
1
Trump has no more cards to play, now.
His threats consist of deliberately going to war with an adversary which must be totally defeated by land sea and air forces and completely occupied to subdue.
Trump will leave the USA without any credibility whatsoever in any commitment it ostensibly makes.
1
Iran must understand that their enabler, Obama, is no longer in the White House and now they must deal with President Trump, who has not forgotten, as have many in Washington, the humiliation suffered by the USA at the hands of Iran over 40 years ago. The USA has a score to settle with Iran and he will settle it. I support the President. I support Trump. Thank you.
3
@SouthernBoy that's a great foreign policy proposal. Settling old scores.
4
@Southern Boy
A score to settle - how puerile, this is not grade school.
btw: The ME can go way back, decades further than 40 years in citing grievances of US and Western meddling.
Iran has not forgotten the US staging a coup and putting a tyrant puppet in place of Iran's democratically elected president so it could steal Iranian resources, nor has it forgotten US selling bio-weapons to Iraq to murder Iranians, among many other heinous actions.
Iran did however forgive the US for shooting down a passenger plan (the US admitted their fault) in Iranian airspace with hundreds of citizens aboard, 66 of them children. Rapprochement. Diplomacy.
There is a lot of bad blood on both sides but a mature adult works towards finding a meeting point so a path can be carved to a better future . Obama worked to find a meeting point with the JCPOA, it envisioned a better future for both countries and the world. It's called wisdom and maturity.
Trump has taken a huge step back in favor of dishonoring the agreement, bullying, berating and attacking - childish, cowardly, attention-seeking behavior. He did the same to Cuba, Ukraine and who knows what other countries. He is a dangerous fool.
4
In the late 50's, Eisenhower began token military and economic aid to South Vietnam, followed by a sharp escalation by Kennedy, then a massive escalation by Johnson, and then total withdrawal by Nixon as the war was finally realized to be unwinnable.
So, a replay of Vietnam began when George W. Bush invaded Iraq, with massive military and economic aid, which Obama inherited, and then inherited by Trump, who now faces the prospect of "losing" the Iraq war, as Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson feared in Vietnam.
The US "lost" the Iraq war years ago, and now Trump is in the cusp of another of his "we'll see" moments.
3
from their point of view, they are already at war - economic war, which is getting tighter and tighter with newer sanctions on a regular basis.
It all started with Trump canceling the nuclear deal and imposing sanctions. If the sanctions remain and the Iranian government feel encircled and economically isolated, I suspect they will show even more daring attacks.
This administrations policy toward Iran is inconsistent and incomprehensible. I do not see a cohesive end game.
17
@Cyrus Esmaili
There is no cohesive end game. These are agents of Putin; they are agents of chaos.
1
It’s times like this that Trump and America pay the price for Trump damaging America’s relationship with her allies. Who will side with us if we have a major conflict with Iran? Vladimir Putin and Russia? Nope. Kim Jong Un and North Korea? Nope. America has never been so alone as it now is because of Trump.
21
Trump will stage a well timed military excursion to have him be seen as "the war president", a last ditch effort to cement his reelection. As usual, he will not care about the cost in lives, or the long term consequences, because it will be all about him...and Putin.
9
We have allowed Britain and France to punish Egypt for stealing the Suez Canal. We should have invaded Iran and Saudi Arabia and publicly killed their political and religious leaders for 9/11. Iraq and Afghanistan are not threats to the US. We need an ideological foreign policy instead of the “response to cables” denounced even by the Pragmatist, Kissinger.
@Abe Nosh
Iran had nothing to do with 9/11. And what should we do to Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians?
1
Yeah, and I’m sure you’d be leading the charge.
The chest-thumpers always do. Well, if you count being 500 miles behind the front lookong for divagationists as leading the charge.
1
This is an exceedingly dangerous situation made more so by an impulse driven foreign policy brought to us by tRump and his chicken hawk cronies. The US went into Iraq & Afghanistan based on lies and now we are in crisis because our know-nothing president has boxed us into a corner. Trump has made huge gambles in Our Name and has little with which to bargain. Time for his supporters to really think deeply about his abilities as a negotiator. Government is not business and should never rely on business model for success. Btw, tRump wasn’t an especially good businessman in the 1st place, but he sure knew a thing or two about bankruptcy. He has made this nation bankrupt in so many ways.
9
Donald Trump is a Paper Tiger.
Kim Jong Un figured that out quickly, and Iran, China and others have too.
The great irony here is that Paper Tiger Trump is probably a good thing under the current circumstances. The last thing we need with such an incompetent head of state, a hollowed-out State Department and a convulsed Department of Defense is an outright war with Iran, Iraq, North Korea -- or any other country, for that matter.
Also, as one of only a handful of Americans to have visited Iran, Iraq, and Syria, I must also say that open warfare with these countries would be an absolute tragedy and travesty. The citizens of these countries (not their governments) are truly kind and wonderful, and the architectural and archeological treasures these countries contain are spectacular.
We need real diplomacy, and lots of it -- not war, or threats of war.
17
And Trump needs to be gone asap.
1
Trump said loudly that the US would stop policing the whole world. Iran heard him.
6
Tell me again why we are there to begin with.... nearly 7,000 miles away from the U.S.A.... a twelve hour flight. Why are we still there? oil? to appease the War Profiteers? to satisfy the Hawks and endanger our men? Why?
7
@margaret
Because once you go in it's not so easy to get out.
1
Agreed. I never bought the “Pottery Barn Doctrine.” After we determined there were no WMDs and Saddam was neutralized, it was time to go home. Our military is great in winning quick decisive battles, but we have no skill in nation building. None.
1
Tired of the winning, yet, America? Or the whining?
7
This may be Trump's Benghazi....
8
@markn
For this to have been Trump's Benghazi he would have had to have slept through the attack and ignored all requests for assistance.
Not a chance that this president is likely to blame things on a video.
1
Yet another idiotic visceral Trump created crisis. The Iran nuclear deal was working.
17
The idea of Donald Trump making decisions about war and peace in the Middle East can only be considered risible.
How does he gather information in order to make decisions? From thirty second briefings between watching TV, playing golf, and tweeting?
21
Although, to be fair, from his point of view there are only three criteria to be considered:
- will my decision make me money;
- will my decision feed my ego;
- will my decision help get me re-elected.
Nothing else matters.
2
@Robbiesimon
Indeed. It’s hard to imagine a worse person at the controls.
2
The situation in Iraq is becoming very similar to that in Afghanistan - an initially successful mission in military terms that produced results that were initially viewed in positive ways by the populace. Over time, it became clear that effective central government was essentially impossible, and corrupt local governments made life worse for the populace. So, the invading force becomes the scapegoat - no one likes being occupied by a foreign military presence. The lesson that should be learned is that hasty foreign policy decisions - especially decisions to intervene - have longterm consequences. I am not reassured that the current administration considers any consequences past the next election cycle
7
Trump’s policy of disengagement, demeaning NATO and the UN for example, may play well with his base. They and others who advocate isolationism clamor to have the troops brought home and not to waste blood and treasure on unnecessary foreign wars. That sounds good, if you assume that those forays do nothing for the US or world. But they do.
SInce World War II, and likely before, the US has been the world policeman. And yes, that is not great or really a responsibility that many have opening embraced. But it has maintained relative peace for generations, and there does not appear to be another nation or alliance system willing and able to assume that role.
Consequently, when the US disengages or its leader signals his disapproval of international peace keeping alliances, like NATO in the name of “America First” or MAGA, the resulting power vacuum will be filled, in this case by chaos.
Trump has been lucky that he has not had a real foreign policy challenge. His supporters will claim that the relative peace has been the result of his playing some version of three dimensional chess with world leaders. I doubt it. And now, as things start to come apart in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula, we may get to see how vapid rhetorical and a naive foreign policy stand up to reality.
5
Trump Warns Iran as Risk of Wider Armed Conflict Grows"
How's that? Who ordered the air strikes in the first place? If it wasn't Trump. who was it? Pompeo? Bolton maybe? Looks to me like somebody wants a wider conflict.
4
What, other than loss of prestige, would actually happen if you got out of the Middle East altogether and left them to kill each other? Aren't we all in agreement that dependency on fossile fuels needs to stop anyway? Plus, from your perspective, most of the oil from there gets shipped to Europe, not America. Surely the Israelis can defend themselves, too. I know it is hard to predict outcomes of decisions like these, but it is as if we don't even talk about it any more. To me, a promise to end endless war was always the most sympathetic part of Donalds Trump's political message.
3
@Michael
If the US got completely "out" of the M.E. and stopped protecting Saudi Arabia and Israel, Iran would become unstoppable and eventually trigger war with Israel. The Iranians have been planning for such a war for many years, and have placed thousands of missiles in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, all pointed at Israel and Saudi Arabia.
In the future, if unrestricted war broke out between Israel and Iran (Israel is ALREADY at war with Iran), and if Iran were able to inflict unacceptable damage and casualties to Israel, the latter would be tempted to use nuclear weapons against Iran to stop the carnage, just as the US did to Japan at the end of WWII.
The use of nuclear weapons can be avoided if the US continues to protect Saudi Arabia, and especially Israel, from a worse-case conflict with Iran. Only quick and decisive US intervention in such a war would preclude the possibility of use of nuclear weapons.
1
“Let them kill each other” is a terrible and immoral foreign policy. Was it ok to stand by while Hutus killed a million people in Rwanda? Is it right for the world to stand by while the Rohingya are massacred? Syria and Yemen as well. The vast majority of people in these countries are totally innocent and yet most westerners imagine them all to be terrorists or let racist attitudes determine who is worthy to be saved. I’m highly critical of US foreign policy but doing nothing is not the answer either.
1
I thought Jared had all this fixed?
17
@Paul
He has! Isn't that the way Bibi wants it? The war guarantees two re-elections!
2
We are big. We are powerful. No one can match our strength. So why is Trump hysterical? If a few Iraqi's need to vent waving their flags, let them and wait it out. Everyone will calm down eventually.
3
@PATRICK : One needs to know how to use power to be effective. Putin used very little power to get his puppet elected.
1
If I understand correctly, the government of Irak was not given any advance notice of the bombings. Is it legal to bomb a country without the consent of the local government?
Maybe we should look at imposing sanctions on countries that have little respect for international law and human life.
1
Yet, another fine mess Mr. Trump has gotten us into.
10
Looks like we're headed to destroying more Middle Eastern societies and killing more Middle Eastern people. Who benefits from chaos in the Middle East? Why is creating chaos in the Middle East American policy?
4
Some excellant and very cogent arguments being made here. My only issue is that this President has not surrounded himself with independant thinkers with a wealth of experience, instead, those persons left and what we now have are inexperienced yes men and an AG and VP who have espoused their very own religious ideology into the mix. Have no clue where this is going but your gut instinctively tells you the outcome does not bode well. Trillions of dollars in debt and staring down the barrel of another ill conceived conflict.
4
Mr. Trump’s May 2018 withdrawal from it prompted Iran and its proxies to adopt a more aggressive posture toward the United States.
What a joke Trump is. Now he’s begging Iraq to help us out. Sad pitiful
3
Bolton is exactly right and the media does not spend nearly enough time and effort explaining the cataclysmic disruption caused by the Shia sect of Islam. While both the Shia and the Sunni sects are violent toward each other and everybody else who disagrees with them, they have kept the Middle East in a perpetual state of turmoil for centuries. What is ongoing in the Middle East is a religious war with Islamic foundations. The West has no weapons or means of any kind to prevail in this dire and deadly political/religious situation.
2
If Iraq had invaded the US unlawfully, killed thousands of its people and ruined the country, I imagine Americans would be somewhat displeased about it as well. Many would have “anti-Iraq sentiments”.
Stupid, baseless, illegal wars have consequences. George W Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al, and the Republican Party, have a lot to answer for.
9
Iran is the dominant player in Iraq .
Iran has nothing to gain by confronting the US there as any military conflict activates the only US advantage ie asymmetrical warfare .
Iran has its sites on Saudi Arabia.
What country in its right mind would come to the defense of MBS and the royal family? Not even Israel would chose to die on that hill.
Does any nation fear the Saudi military? Recent events confirm that it can’t defend itself . Any country would rather join Iran and divy up the spoils.
And would Americans want to defend the country whose leading export is Al Queda? Whose ruler orders the dismemberment of US residents?
Across the kingdom the private jets are fueled and ready to depart. The yachts are secure on the Côte d’Azur. Apartments are available in Trump Tower. Trump and Kushner await with US citizenship once investments are locked down.
The woefully corrupt and cowardly House of Saud had its run . Iran and Shia Islam will determine the course of the Middle East in the 21st Century. .
2
@Jl
You left out one very important factor: ISRAEL.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards want to destroy the State of Israel, and have said so publicly many times.
This is NOT Shia Islam, but the Nazi fringe thereof.
The Jewish People will not allow yet another slaughter of Jews in less than 100 years, at the hands of Iranian Nazis.
The Iranian nuclear program (the brainchild of the Revolutionary Guards) may have been temporarily slowed down by the JCPOA, but the larger issue of Iranian militarism in the Region was not being adequately addressed by the Obama Administration. Trump is attempting to address this issue, and withdrawing from the JCPOA was the "tool" he used.
Re-imposing maximum sanctions has the object of cutting off the flow of money from the sale of Iranian oil, which money was being used to fund Revolutionary Guard militarism.
The problem of Iranian militarism and expansionism in the M.E. can only be solved by defeating the reactionary Mullahs and the Nazi Revolutionary Guards. It is very highly unlikely that this can be accomplished peacefully.
Militia groups are not under the control of any government. This is true in Iraq, in Syria, in Gaza, and (yes) even in the United States of America. The attacks on the Saudi refinery and the Iraqi military base could have been done independent militias, individual extremists, and/or covert operations groups from certain hawkish nations. In the case of the Kirkuk attack the source is unknown ...
... yet the Trump Administration takes a pot shot and automatically blames the Iranian leadership.
1
Hey, a war with Iran - great campaign theme. “Threat” not “warning”. Shakespearean command of nuance.
3
There are some, the NY Times editors among them, that are still on the regime change bandwagon. This neocon dream of rebooting American dominance in the Middle East has been a disaster from its inception and shows no signs of changing.
The Iraqi people are reacting to the killing of their citizen's by US forces. One can call them "militias" or offer vague assertions of funding or "influence" by Iran. But the truth is they are Iraqi's and they are tired of the continuing US occupation.
They are tired of suffering abuse at the hands of the US military and despite their own differences with Iran, they do not want their country to be used by the US as its forward base for attacking Iran.
Somehow the NYTimes and the cable news crowd simply don't get it. The Iraqi people want their country back. All of it. So do the Syrians and the Libyans.
The people of Yemen want us to stop aiding the Saudi's in their murderous bombing campaign. The Somali's want an end to American drone strikes. And the Palestinians want real self determination, not the American/Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing.
And the American people have wasted thousands of lives and five trillion dollars on these endless wars born from lies, greed and corruption.
It's time the headlines read; "Enough is Enough!!" Our news media needs to reflect our views and sentiments, not just those of the war industry.
The next decade should begin with the end of endless war, not blustering and threats of a new one.
6
@Drspock
This is utter nonsense.
"The Iraqi People want their country back. All of it. so do the Syrians and the Libyans."
Large portions of Iraq and Syria have been taken over by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Lebanon is already under the heavy control of Hizbollah/Iran. Assad in Syria is nothing but the stooge of Iran and Russia. Iran is also heavily involved in Yemen, supporting the Shia rebels.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are doing exactly what the Nazis did from 1935-1939, except that they are largely utilizing local militias for most of the fighting on the ground. Iran is literally taking over, and their next target is Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Sheikdoms, who cannot defend themselves, as was clearly proven by the Iranian drone attack on Saudi's crown jewels.
This war is only at the beginning, it is bound to become much, much larger.
And don't forget that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have set as one of their stated goals the destruction of Israel.
Worse than the foreign-policy stupidity of threatening Iran is the possibility/probability that Trump just wants to divert attention from the impeachment trial and related matters.
5
Weren't we warned about this in 2016; that this idiot could cause or would seek an altercation with Iran. And didn't we read simultaneous warning that any consequences of any war-like action against Iran would be certain suicide? Where is sanity, reason and truth?
7
The thought of Trump overseeing a war is too awful to entertain. In a fit of pique, he'd probably give away our battle plans on Twitter. Or how about Rudy Giuliani negotiating the terms of a truce? "America's Mayor", (one wishes he'd been content with just that distinction), would try to find a way to make money out of it, guaranteed.
We only have a year left before we get a new president; let's pray that cool heads prevail at least till then.
14
I sincerely hope George W. is having a happy and satisfying holiday.
15
Been in the middle east, done regime change. Result in every case: disaster at enormous cost to the American treasury and a lot of fine young people killed (to say nothing of the civilian casualties and untold suffering). I expect that our "president" cannot or will not learn; what about the Republicans in Congress?
9
Last night on New Year's eve, shortly before the ball was dropping in Times Square, president Trump was warning
Iran of the risk of a wider armed conflict and they would be held fully responsible for the attack by Iraqi demonstrators on the U.S. embassy compound near Baghdad.
Some recent headlines:
Iraq militia vows revenge to U.S. strikes .
Attacks on American embassy in Iraq increases risk of
U.S.-- Iran military conflict.
Trump's hawkish allies in Washington want to confront Iran forcefully because of recent attack that killed a military contractor and wounded some U.S. soldiers.
United States has been operating in the dysfunctional
society of Iraq for seventeen (17) years , since 2003.
We still can't make it functional so it's time to come home.
If Trump's hawkish allies in Washington and their children want to go to Iraq and continue fighting in their dysfunctional
society, it would be OK with me.
5
I will be interesting to see how a reality tv star handles an international crisis. I wonder what the joint chiefs are thinking.
4
To insure his reelection, Trump wants to run as a War President.
His opponents may be prepared to spend a billion dollars to defeat Trump. Trump is willing to spend a trillion dollars to start and fund a war that will make it impossible for anyone to challenge him once the carnage begins. They will simply be called traitors and treated accordingly.
5
On the one hand, the US has been warning Iran to stop messing around in Iraq. Retaliation was probably inevitable in some shape or form.
On the other hand, bombing an Iraqi militia was disproportionate to the death of one contractor. US deaths in Iraq have been declining since 2008 and flat since 2014. One non-US military personnel doesn't even register on the scale.
The Trump administration knew perfectly well the Iraqi bombing would incense both the Iraqi government as well as the population writ whole. Not to mention escalate tensions with Iran. Why would you bomb an Iraqi militia then? The math doesn't add up. Not unless you consider what we're not talking about right now.
Lev Parnas was just granted permission to turn over evidence to Congress concerning Giuliani's involvement in Ukraine. Evidence Parnas apparently hopes will establish his testimony in an impeachment trial.
Trump is most certainly squeamishly adverse to war. War doesn't look good when he is the "ending never ending wars" candidate. However, what would push Trump to escalate the risk of war with Iran? Impeachment.
The President is using the Middle East as a distraction from domestic troubles. He plans to tuck his tail and run away again before going to war. However, he might have just started a fire he can't put out.
3
Trump is impulsive and without any self-control, he will follow his impulse to serve his personal interests. If he thinks the war will get him what he wants he will go to war.
5
@ARL : He wants to stay out of prison. If he has to go to war and have Americans be killed, he will.
1
What if the folks at Twitter simply disabled Trump's Twitter account preventing him from issuing any more spontaneous Tweets that affect the lives of so many real people around the world? The person(s) who could disable Trump's Tweets should certainly be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
7
My oft-spoken/written fear is that once our volatile, uncontrollable president realizes he's boxed in by his Impeachment, the bailing of so many of his Republican supplicants, the incarceration of his former stalwarts, and murmurings of formerly solid supporters on the Supreme Court he will realize he has no recourse but to go out in a blaze of what he thinks is glory.
Guess how? Iran is a perfect excuse. Who is our Superman? Our Transformer?
2
Happy New Year with no threats, no warnings, and no strings! If it's at all possible let's take a deep breath and first ask "Should we even be in Iraq?" We all know that the Bush-Cheney Iraq War was illegitimate based on the Big Lie of WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction). So, why should be even stay? We've already installed a supposedly democratic government, and we should stop acting as a occupying force, let them work out the messy situation of foreign influence, and do what Trump promised and, as he often says to Muslims, "get out!" Instead, we've aligned ourselves with the medieval monarchy in Saudi Arabia now ruled by a blood-thirsty young despot who we've allowed to get away with murdering an American resident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, and has dragged us into the quagmire of a Muslim civil war in Yemen between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran and now with Iranian proxy forces in Iraq. It absolutely no longer makes sense given that we don't depend on Saudi oil. The only war worth fighting is what some are calling "War Zero" to end our dependence of oil and other fossil fuels to combat climate change. Let's stop the heated rhetoric, the escalating threats, and step back from the brink of a major war that will engulf the entire region and reset our policy toward peace. That would make for a very Happy New Year.
2
The GOP Congressmen, the GOP base loves Trump's policies, whatever they are. And, unquestionably and unquestioning, will back Trump 100%, regardless of literally anything. That is fact over the last 3 years.
The GOP upset over the Kurd thing? Only noise for Fox News.
1
Just what did this moral and intellectual cripple think would happen as he tore up the US Iran agreement, wrote love letters to Kim Jong Un and praised Vlad to the exclusion of his own security and intelligence apparatus, to highlight just a few of his foreign policy forays? We here in Canada, now having been branded as a national security threat to your country, certainly understand what a danger your President is to international relations. We eagerly await your awakening. Or does that only happen when your own young men and women are dying by the thousands.
13
It's impossible to sleep at night with the volatile and unstable Trump in the White House. As unpredictable as he is, he governs (if you can call it that) moment by moment, according to his emotions and ego. One minute inflamed, the next threatening, the next hurt and fragile, he has surrounded himself with opportunistic toadies who are uninterested in giving wise counsel, and want instead to advance their own views. The country is at the mercy of these people. It's chilling, especially at a moment like this when our very future could hinge on putting aside egos and instead considering what's best for the country. Trump is not used to thinking in these terms, wrapped up in himself as he is at all times, and may not even be capable of such thoughts. Where does that leave us, the American people? The best advice for Trump is the same advice he gave to Turkey's Recep Erdoğan not too long ago: "Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool."
1
Only way out of another trump mess is to have a President Biden and Secretary of State Fiona Hill. I hope we can hold out until November. I doubt any European leaders are laughing now. This is serious.
1
Trump started this. We had a working peace agreement everyone was getting used to and as a result, would have been easily extended after years of realizing we weren't so bad after all.
Then came the military puppet Trump.
Reserve your criticism for the military entrapping our nation in yet more conflict, because that is what they do. You can't keep feeding that Beast.
Vote out all Republicans if you don't want us attacked. I remind you the attacks of 911 occurred just a few months after the Republican junior Bush, son of CIA Herbert took office. They seem to attract trouble, don't they?
3
@PATRICK
Incorrect. The military does not make policy. The military takes orders from policymakers and suffers for it. The military does not have a choice. Trump, the Commander in Chief does.
If we had stuck with the Nuclear agreement with Iran, none of this would be happening. In fact we could've gone further and mad additional agreements. The worst threat to America is Trump and his GOP enablers.
6
People are forgetting that this chain of cause and effect is the direct result of George Bush deciding to invade a country as revenge for 9/11 which had NOTHING TO DO 9/11.
This is George W. Bush's historical legacy.
13
@ernieh1 :
To me, it is the legacy of our Electoral College. As is Trump.
The minority of Americans wanted these wars, and got them. And they still do.
5
Growing up in the 60's we were told to get ready for WWIII. That it would be Iran, N Korea and China. Trump is aligning with Russia and some Euro countries to protect Western civilization. King from Iowa has been preaching it for decades!
We'll be ready...we have to best funded military complex in the world. What could go wrong? Climate doesn't matter when the sky is RED!!
1
IF the GOP and Conservatives can support Putin and Russia over the USA, then I can support Iran in their struggle against Trump.
7
The fight in the Mideast is a religious battle between two Islamic sects. We have no business getting involved. Trump wants a war to distract the nation from his malfeasance in office. What we have is a draft dodger who wants to prove he is a man by getting American service men and women killed.
2
This is a direct result of Trump foolishly leave the Iran agreement . He is arrogant , reckless and irresponsible when it comes to foreign affairs. The Middle East surely has been a mess , but now we have someone at the helm just making things worse. The Obama administration with Kerry as Secretary of State worked so hard to get some agreement in place to prevent Iran from getting their hands on a nuclear weapon , and now Trump just wants to undo any good that Obama accomplished simply because of petty childish envy . The agreement may not have been perfect but at least it was something. Now all bets are off and I fear for what may lie ahead for the United States and others in that region.
3
I am afraid to say it, but 45 is way out of his league on this.
3
Way to go, Pompeo, et al. You potentially had Iraqi public opinion on your side, with Iraqis protesting Iranian meddling in their government processes. And you go in and launch an airstrike against an Iraqi militia because you assume that Iran is behind a rocket attack that killed an American contractor. Because you want to be "decisive" and show that the U.S. is going to be the tough guy that can't be pushed around. Knee-jerk reactions have worked so well for us in the past. People like Pompeo and Trump don't understand the nuances of winning hearts and minds. They think brute force will cow the Iraqis who are fed up with conditions in their country. Wrong. You just dug our hole deeper in the Middle East. Heckuva job, Mikey.
3
Liberals need to make up their minds:
Do you want Trump to bring home troops or not?
3
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that many liberals, independents, AND conservatives were criticizing Trump’s poorly thought out and hasty decisions to suddenly pull troops out of Syria and other places.
5
@99percent :
Do Conservatives understand there are different ways to accomplish the same thing? One can use a fly swatter to get rid of an unwanted bug, or one can use a 20 ounces of C4 explosives. Both work, but Conservatives like the C4.
5
@99percent
If by “bring home” you mean betray our allies in Syria at the prostitution of Saudi Arabia and Russia, stop fighting their terrorist networks and then send MORE of our brothers and sisters in the military to defend our enemies in Saudi Arabia and fight more regime change wars?
Then, no. You can keep that.
Lindsey Graham says there will be no Benghazis under Trump - well, it's happened twice in as many days in Iraq. I wonder what Trump has on Graham.
11
War with Iran would be a disaster far beyond anything Trump, his political advisers or the MAGA hat crowd can imagine. The military are another group altogether, along with the intelligence community--they would likely see it for what it is: incredibly stupid. Only imbeciles would consider it...well, hmmm, I guess that describes who is considering it. Maybe the Republican "Leadership" believe they can rally the people behind it as a way of distracting them from all the other stuff their president and his cronies have been up to. So: start bombing and wave the flag--history indicates that it seems to work. For awhile. Until all those casualties start to pile up. And there would be piles and piles of them. Iran is not Iraq, or Afghanistan: they are far more connected internationally to adversaries like China and Russia; have an advanced military equipment and the support of a large proportion of their own people and most of the Shin world as well. As international "adventures" go, it would be a supremely bad idea. So, guess who might decide to pursue it? The stable genius himself.
5
Iran is at it's weakest point in years. Iran can't attack U.S. outposts through its proxies and expect us to simply turn the other cheek.
Hit them back proportionately. There doesn't need to be tanks rolling to Tehran to give them a black eye. They are overextended in Syria and Iraq -- these are easy targets from the air as the recent strike demonstrated.
1
Fortunately, Trump does not need to make his own decisions. He can just call up his buddy Putin and ask him what to do. And then go back to his twitter feed.
4
When the oppressed of the world rebel, the chant will be "America First".
1
An Iranian backed militia killed an American contractor and we responded in a fairly robust but limited way. All these silly comments attacking the US President rather than the Iranian aggression are silly and sad.
@Robert
This is a direct result of the US pulling out of the nuclear agreement and increasing sanctions on Iran. The US started this when the CIA installed the Shah in 1953.
1
Trump is financially beholden to the Saudi MBS (alias "the butcher")
Kushner is ideologically beholden to Netanyahu (family ties run deep).
Guess who's running US foreign policy in the ME.
4
"Strained aversion to war"? President T's agenda may be that in time of 'war' it's difficult to impeach a president who happens to be commander in chief.Get it? Duh....
3
If we get out of the Middle East conflicts there is a chance for peace, Netanyahu will be forced to make peace with Iran and forced to stop building illegal settlements. Trump at Kushner's direction opened negotiations by giving away the farm ( Jerusalem) and sending a pro settlement ambassador to Israel then for some reason switched course when it became obvious that AIPAC/ Adelson shills Bolton and Pompeo were going to drag us into a non winnable war with Iran: Trump woke up to the fact he didn’t want to be known as Cheney II so he fired Bolton and assumed a more resumed approach although inextricably withdrew from the Iran agreement and invoked crippling sanctions at the behest of Pompeo with a heavy dose of influence from the Israel Lobby. Israel is the only clear benefactor in any of this, but for obvious reasons the censors don’t allow the mention of that undeniable fact, a huge mistake, Israel has cost our nation trillions in treasure and millions of lives have been destroyed to allow them to continue their expansionary plans which include war with Iran. Trump was acting like the adult in the room for awhile now it’s beginning to look as though he was just looking for a better offer from Adelson and AIPAC. I’m not picking on Adelson I’m merely stating a fact which The Times should report, Adelson has demonstrated the willingness to support the right wing Likud Party at any cost and no one wins elections without Jewish support.
4
Roosevelt was famous for "speak softly but carry a big stick". Trump speaks loudly but carries a golf club.
4
Trump traded the Obama accmodation for this current no win standoff. Remember that.
3
Its time for the USA to either get out of Iraq,OR come up with a reason why you are there that is self funding for whih the taxpayer does not bear the cost,Alternatively declare war on Iran .You will never win a politically limited war conducted by terrorists.
Americans are more likely to support wars when they don’t have to write a check for it every month and instead put it on the collective credit card for future generations.
3
Just who is in charge of American foreign policy in the Middle East?
MBS in Saudi Arabia?
Netanyahu in Israel (via Kushner in Washington)?
A few war hawks in Congress?
The US military supply corporations?
Probably all of the above ..... because it sure ain't originating from Trump!
5
Trump wants this Chaos.
Diversions ;from here ,to the first nuclear bomb going off on top of the USA.
His incompetence is causing population control.
A perfect world when the billionaires leave their buttressed bunkers folks.
We the Worker/ Slaves / Scapegoats are dispensable globally by these oligarchs , autocrats , tech heads , billionaire class and the Washington Cabal created by a flawed two party monopoly on power. A Supreme Court with supreme biases.
We are a disgrace to ourselves and the globe.
Trump and his crimes will assure America’s demise before next November.
The military are lockstep.
The redoubt groups are attacking already. Yet ..,,,
No protests or work stoppages or trucker strikes.
Not a peep cuz we know from previous Eras and up and including Occupy Wall Street protesting peacefully means nothing to pepper spray and tear gas .
Cops behaved badly and no one stopped them in Congress. Nor did Obama. Obama is now wealthier than ever.
The Tea party protesters were not attacked by cops or Congress.
So don’t expect much or expect Congress and the Courts to listen.
Trump will cause American annihilation of all but the well positioned and Wealthy. What we rendered thru Apathy in the Middle East post WW2 up till now will be our Karmic , Holy , self propagating fate within a year unless the Supreme Court , Military , FBI , CIA and international Services mutiny the White House Cabinet and trump generals now. We all have ample evidence of a Russia take over!
16
Iraq is a corpse of a former nation. Destroyed for the sake of profits for the US Arms Industry. There is no reason for US troops to be there now.
16
The toothless dog barks.
10
When all else fails, “Wag the Dog” prevails. Sad!
6
We have a willfully ignorant president who beats his chest from the golf course and twitter. His kids won't be suffering in a war that has taken its toll on civilians...I can sit here in the comfort of my kitchen and read about the suffering of people thousands of miles away and wonder who is going to finally make a decent decision about this ongoing insanity. Trump is a clear threat to our nation and every other nation in the world. His chest-beating is not going to end well for anyone.
17
Doesn't a military require a commander?
I mean, Jerry Lewis on steroids, making his worst movie about GI Life? Would you follow his script to die in or around Iran? At the most, he'll order bombing raids, but scuttle like a crab back into his cave.
10
Is this our “wag the dog” moment? Sure feels that way!
7
Mr Trump warns he wants to become a War President in an election/impeachment year.
6
Why don't the White House advisors read aloud to their president – or make a one-page bullet-point list (bullets are so appropriate) - the just-published NY Times + UN reports on the horrific bombing of civilians - schools and hospitals included - in northwestern Syria? A continuation of Russia's and Syria's horrific war crimes - their militant allies help against the Syrian civilian population.
I suppose Trump stops his ears to his dear Russian friend Putins' bombing activities in Syria but concentrates on threatening the ayatollahs. Trump chooses his "enemies" carefully. As bad as Iran is, Saudi Arabia is no better while Trump, Kushner, et al., fawn over MBS.
Israel, where I have family, is no better dealing with the encircled, blockaded and enraged Palestinians. Egypt is a shocking murderous dictatorship like Syria. Lebanon, and the North African countries where the Arab Spring began, is fracturing yet again. We've heard nothing more of the starvation and ethnic cleansing in Yemen.
Wherever Trump and Pompeo turn their attention, destruction follows. War with Iran? Why? The ayatollahs are their own worst enemies. The Iranians are sick and tired of the poverty and repression visited on them by their oppressive religious leaders. The Iranians made an ayatollah-led revolution to chase the Shah out of Iran. The Iranians can do the same to the ayatollahs. But that won't stop the near-total destruction of life in Syria's provinces far from Damascus.
5
Iran has China and Russia on their side. We have no one. Why? Because Trump has alienated all of our alies and left them swinging in the wind. Great foreign policy Donny boy. This is what happens when you belive the USA exists as an island unto itself.
11
@confounded
Our allies, with an eye to the future, might hang in. There's every chance we'll have a new president- in- waiting by this time next year.
Trump's aversion to using military force -- admirable.
Trump's alienation of many of our traditional allies -- stupid.
So what are his options?
Bluster and Tweets seem to be Trump's preferred methodology for dealing with our adversaries, real and imagined, but don't appear to have any lasting effect.
If there is a coherent policy behind these ephemeral rants it escape me. And most of the world seems to ignore them.
7
The president's monumental incompetence has emboldened Iran and North Korea and left Maduro in office in Venezuela. He has no foreign policy successes, unless you count getting Mexico to pay for his wall...oh, wait...
17
Iran shot down a drone just before the White House changed direction of bombers bringing them home. Those drones are supposed to be undetectable. I suspect Iran's connections to Iraqi information has military intelligence on mechanical workings of stealth equipment.
I suspect White House occupants are unable to do anything due to failures in Iraq. The whole idiocy of the presidency is coming to light.
6
To liberate the Middle East from mullahs'terrorist regime there is only one way, help Iranians to organize, clandestinely, a military Coup d'Etat in Iran, the type of coups similar to the 1973 coup in Chile, and 1989 in Romania, to overthrow and change this illegitimate mafia and terrorist regime of mass-murderers occupying Iran today.
This medieval ayatollahs' terrorist regime is in reality extermely unpopular inside Iran, in fact, the mullahs have less than 3% support inside the country. That is less than 2 million melitia and other mecenaries regime suppprters, out of more than 80 millions Iranian population.
Those 3% regime supporters are mostly foreign terrotist militia brought into Iran from the near by countries in the Middle East, from such terrorist groups as Hezbollahs, Jehadists and Hamas.
An American contractor was killed while working in a war zone.
Multiple Americans are killed every month by shooters inside the United States of America.
and the Trump Administration is on the brink of starting WW3?
17
In that whole region, power is the currency with each side trying to acquire all. Ideology and religion are mere recruiting tools. Diplomacy is seen as weakness. Exercising power without restraint is what wins the day. Trump's unflinching use of military power is intimidating the local powers. Diplomacy has no place in this conflict American military power will win in the end.
2
Trump is now about to start a war with Iran so he can get re-elected. He looked at George W. Bush's experience after starting a war in Iraq and realized how a war with Iran could re-elect a failed presidency. American armed forces do not belong anywhere in the Middle East to protect American interests. Our meddling in the Middle East since the mid 20th century is part of the root cause of so much of the conflicts that have been waged there since the CIA installed the Shah in Iran in place of the previously elected government. Trump was right to want to pull ALL American troops out of the entire region and let the people of those troubled countries decide their own fate. Another "quagmire" just like VietNam that will not be corrected by the U.S. military.
6
Iran and North Korea do not respect or fear America. They laugh at us as Trump abandons our allies, and they pay no attention to the old man behind the curtain of his tweets. Remember that when Reagan was elected Iran let the hostages go because they feared Reagan, a President who loved this country and put it before himself.
1
@exit11
You may want to read up about Reagan and those hostages. The truth is quite different from what you've been told.
4
@exit11 Reagan was the beginning of the Trump era pf politics. He did more to divide America than to help it. The only thing he loved about America was his desire to mold into the the kind of country Trump is creating.
3
An Iraqi militia group launched a rocket attack killing an American contractor and wounding 4 American, and 2 Iraqi soldiers.Trump responds with airstrikes on five targets, killing 24 members of an Iranian backed militia.
Protestors---from multiple groups with no unified command or leader--- moved into the embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces were reluctant to/refused to take aggressive action against them. They showed no intent or appetite for anything beyond property damage/setting fires. No Americans were harmed and they have withdrawn. Trump *says* they are controlled by Iran.
Now, Trump is sending gunships, 100 marines to be followed by 750 soldiers.
Who is escalating this conflict? and why? To what end?
8
It strikes me that the United States has no coherent long term strategy for the Middle East. We lurch from one bad decision to the next, guided mostly by two domestic political concerns—the need to look tough against terrorism and the need to show solidarity with Israel. Our strategy is nothing more than political posturing.
Unfortunately, the American system of government has grown completely dysfunctional so political posturing is maybe the best we can ever expect from it. We are failing in the Middle East because we are failing at home.
6
December, 1998: The bombing of Iraq occurs while Clinton is being impeached the House.
December, 2019: The bombing of Iraq occurs while Trump spars with Nancy Pelosi over his impeachment trial in the Senate.
Apparently, bombing Iraq is what American presidents do when they want to change the subject.
6
It's important to remember, that our "conflict" with Iran goes back to the time when the United States and our war-time partner, the Soviet Union, installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as Shah in 1941. Trumps role is insignificant.
The interesting questions, are why the Bush administration installed a Shia regime in Iraq, and why it allowed Saddam Hussein to be executed, instead of keeping him around, in case we needed him some day. That day might have been now.
3
Isn't it the same old story every single time? Those folks were over there when we went barreling in, almost two decades, 3 trillion dollars, and untold human carnage and suffering on all sides involved and guess what? They're still over there with a brand new generation of children taught to hate the Americans and we're right back where we started from. All for the military industrial complex.
We are, in so many areas now, quite simply capitalism gone awry.
6
What was the $2 TRILLION spent on?
Stop paying taxes if they are just going to waste your money.
10
We are still “protecting” oil fields in the Middle East. But I thought fracking has given us independence from foreign oil.
The oil barons tell the US government to “protect” their future asset development, no matter where the asset exists. And we pay for it all.
We pay higher and higher prices for our fossil fuels. We pay with our tax dollars for these pointless and ineffective foreign interventions. We pay with our military lives when Iran fires missiles. We pay with our children’s future as we continue to increase our rate of fossil fuel usage.
We pay, and pay, and pay again. Pompeo, Bolton, Trump, Cheney, Graham....they know only one song: “Pay The Price”
We need to make THEM pay in November.
3
@Oily And Confused The US may not be dependent on ME oil but many of its perceived enemies are—leverage.
One way to solve this problem is to get out of Iraq now. Instead the troops are going in the wrong direction. Seeing the Embassy attacked reminded me of Viet Nam and the likely end of our occupation will be the same disorderly retreat of our forces. The people and government are not on our side. The same can be said of Afghanistan. As for Iran, we undermined the Democratically elected government and installed the Shah which directly led to the Khomeini revolution. Which country in the Middle-East has become a Democracy because of our presence? None! Our State Dep did not even bother to consult with the Iraqi Government before attacking a proxy group we say is supported by Iran. Trump started this cascade by tearing up the Nuclear arms control treaty. Each step along the way, his bluster has proven how hollow are his words. Then comes the miscalculation, followed by the denouement.
1
I don’t think starting a war with Iran would help Trump one bit. I don’t think voters have an appetite for it.
10
Trump obviously did not anticipate the consequences of breaking the Iran nuclear agreement. It is amazing to me that anyone likes Trump. I won't do business with anyone like him.
13
"Muddled thinking in the Trump administration..." That's all there is with this current administration. What a threat to our own national security.
4
Trump, the adolescent bully, is shouting his warning to a typically weaker opponent. But what if Russia decides to support Iran against American aggression in the Persian Gulf? Will Trump cower in the face of an even bigger bully in the person of his "pal" Putin? Trump should just follow his original instincts and get ALL American troops out of the whole Middle East, ASAP. Chaos will follow of course. But eventually the Middle East conflicts must be solved by the people who are living in the chaos, not by "think tanks" or military commanders in Washington or elsewhere.
1
@RLW Chaos in the Middle East IS the goal! “By their fruits you shall know them!”
It seems the sanctions president Trump has imposed on Iran are working. Money to pay their hired thugs is running out and everyday Iranians are protesting against the mullahs. Even Iraqis are protesting against Iranian influence on their their leaders and endemic corruption. This latest episode smacks of desperation.
1
Trump's rhetoric against Iran keeps escalating--whatever goes wrong in the Middle East is Iran's fault, according to Trump. Forget that Iranians fought alongside the US to help rid Iraq of ISIS. What's his goal in creating the Iran demon in the minds of Americans? To provide rationale for dropping bunker busting bombs on that country, much as W Bush set the stage for eliminating non-existant WMDs in Iraq?
4
American Exceptionalism, Pride, Racism and the fantasy that we own the world are what brought us to this ugly place! War, it’s why we can’t have nice things! For the money we have squandered in the Middle East we could have had universal health care, quality accessible education from preschool to university, better pubic transport throughout the country, more libraries, community centers, sports facilities and low income housing. These things are not a dream, but are within our reach when we are done ruling the world!
5
@Linda McKim-Bell
+1
Wow if only we had someone in the ferocious Sunni Iraqi minority running Iraq. Then Shia militias wouldn't run wild in the streets, threatening our embassy and interests and the entire country wouldn't serve as a Shia vassal state to Iran.
Oh wait we had that! Under Saddam Hussein. However George W. Bush aided by a complicit media and thoroughly uninformed and misinformed American public destroyed this bulwark against Iran at the cost of a mere $2 Trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives lost.
Will we ever know the real reason for this?
2
@O My
The real reason? As always...follow the money.
2
I’m wondering what Jared thinks we should do. Isn’t the Peace in The Middle East Expert?
6
Obviously Trump was skimping on defending the embassy. How much damage was caused? Trump is responsible.
2
The more I experience life and have seen all the battles and wars fomented by aggressive sociopathic men with their attendant juvenile chest thumping (Trump) and their philosophy that we always have “to save face” at any cost no matter how many people suffer, the more I realize that men shouldn’t be allowed to govern.
3
Mr Trump doesn't get it. The airstrikes he authorized caused a retaliation. He just threw a hand grenade into a simmering fire.
What would he expect?
I hope we all read the danger signal of having a reckless person in charge of this country, and get him out of office!
5
As Trump points his fans and other credulous folks toward blaming and hating Iran, when in fact the Iraqi protesters are from and in Iraq--and do have cause for protest--it's worth remembering how Bush Jr pointed the nation toward the destruction of Iraq and not the actual Saudi 9-11 murderers. That misdirection sure worked then. And Trump's fans are even more clueless than Bush Jr in their understanding of the "fool me once" proverb. Grim days.
2
Who’s idea was it that the US needed a massive military complex, disguised as an ‘embassy’ in Baghdad? What a grotesque waste of taxpayer dollars! What purpose does this serve? Now, it looks like an indefensible white elephant that should probably be abandoned. It’s past time for US policy and footprint, other than humanitarian relief and help rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by the US-led war, to be downsized considerably.
4
Toilet Don thinks war with Iran will help him win in November. Republican presidents are such war-mongers. What's another $4 trillion for another war? Well just make our kids pay for it. Sigh.
1
This is exactly what Putin wants; America to get into a proxy war with Iraqi Shiites backed by Iran. And Traitor Trump can’t resist the gambit.
it is time for the US to pull all of our non-intelligence assets out of the Middle East.
1
Would be great to have a steadier hand at the tiller now but some Americans demanded their president echo their dislike of nonwhites and liberals.
Good times!
So... Trump has abandoned yet another US ally to Russian interests, how else could Iran organise “thousands” into violent demonstrations in Iraq? No, no, it’s been three years since Obama! You want to give Trump the credit for the good stuff? Well, he has to take the blame for the bad stuff too! And the verdict appears to be in; Trump is a foreign policy gold mine for Putin and his allies around the world, and an absolute disaster for the U.S. and global stability as a whole. Good job, Robber Barron, you creditors appreciate your patronage!
1
Don't worry folks. Iran is a nation established in 1502, as long ago as Columbus. There are over 74 Million people in Iran. Only a madman would start a war with them.
Hmmm? Uh Oh.
6
As we ponder possible next steps the Trump regime might take in the Mideast, it is useful to think about who is advising the President (besides himself):
Jared Kushner, whose Mideast Peace Plan is a press release'
Mike Pompeo, whose perpetual smirk covers a start, End of Days religious-evangelical philosophic mumbo-jumbo;
Ivanka;
Sean Hannity
Lindsay Graham, the Administration's indoor-outdoor carpet;
Sheldon Adelson;
Brad Parscale, the President's pollster and campaign guru;
Benjamin Netanyah;
Muhammed Bin Salman;
Vladimir Putin.
What an inspiring, confidence-building cabal!
13
“ Why can’t we use Nukes ??? “. HE will, if desperate enough to “ win “ re-election.
Seriously.
7
Wondering which of these questions will be asked first during the Congressional investigation into this attack “Based of the lessons of Benghazi, why wasn’t the American Embassy staff evacuated?” OR “ When President Trump heard about the Embassy attacks, did he continue playing golf?”.
3
" I double dare you to continue attacking our embassy and now-- I'm off to play golf. I'm really, really going to be mad if my golf game is interrupted again"!
5
This is happening for the reasons stated, but from a bigger perspective this is what happens when one interferes in a far off region. Sometimes one has to, but they didn't with Iraq. It is also an example of how bad policy choices such as scrapping the Iran nuclear deal and perhaps recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel can make a difficult situation worse. This is why Trump failed so often in business. He sees only one picture: his own interests and never anyone else.
19
I have little hope this time that Mr. Trump will back off from a precipitous catastrophic war. The timeline of his recent tweets tell us much about his plans. On Tuesday, before any bomb drops on Iraq, he was setting the stage for the war. Knowing the attack was the work of an Iraqi militia, he chose to blame Iran, tweeting: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many.”
My pessimism stems from the fact that there are simply too many "wins" for him in starting the war. And we know that "wins", especially if they allow him to brag about US military, have been irresistible to him.
First, Mr. Trump will have the Congress knocking at his door, begging not to start a war without the Congress support. In his view, that should teach Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer who is the real power in Washington.
Second, a major war in Middle East will be the ultimate diversion from his impeachment. Certainly it has not escaped Mr. Trump's attention that the US bombings and the possibility of war with Iran has pushed the impeachment news to back pages in recent days.
And third is the impact of such a war on the 2020 election, which indeed the most critical consideration for Mr. Trump. Those running his re-election campaign must have already told him that such a war would make it very difficult for many patriotic Americans - including many independents and unhappy republicans - to vote against him. In short, the war would be his back door to winning the 2020 re-election.
8
This article is kind to trump. It forgets that he originally supported the war with Iraq. It describes his decisions as being based on his distaste for foreign adventures and ignores how foreign strongmen manipulate him.
11
It is the duty of the Iraqi government to protect the US Embassy in Baghdad - not Iran's. The Iraqi government failed. Trump's threat against Iran goes in the wrong direction.
1
It looks as though Mike Pompeo is capitalising on the storming of the US embassay in Baghdad to boost his image as a credible presidential candidate in 2024. Meanwhile he would have to decide whether to remain as secretary of state under Trump beyond 2020, or “run for an open Senate seat in Kansas” next year.
In order to prevent another Benghazi disaster, which constantly haunted Hillary Clinton after she left State Department, Pompeo wants to make sure US diplomats and personnel will be well protected by additional forces sent to Iraq.
Two weeks ago, Pompeo warned Iran of a “decisive U.S. response” if the regime or its militias harmed American troops or allies in the region. It remains to be seen whether he would have Trump’s ear.
But this triangular relationship Iraq has with Iran and the US is untenable, with these two foreign adversaries deeply suspicious of each other's motives and eager to outdo each other, turning Iraq into a playground of hostile power politics.
On the one hand the Iraqi military needs US presence to train and assist its forces to fight against ISIS. But the Shia government is closely allied with Tehran.
1
As the election gets closer it is a good bet that Mr. Trump will start a war. The greatest way to distract the country from his endless power grab. The man will stop at nothing to hang on to power.
8
Here's a big secret the GOP does not want us to know. Iraq has become a surrogate of Iran due to the actions of George Bush Jr.The Iranian military has moved into Iraq the same as it has in Lebanon, and Syria. It has become alaunching pad for Iranian aggression against Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump has opened the door for a military alliance of Russia and Iran by abrogating the 5 way agreement with Iran. Now even iraq may be part of that anti US alliance . Turkey is waiting on the sidelines while rejecting its obligations to NATO and purchasing Russian weapons. Jordan, a staunch US ally is debating whether to abrogate the treaty with Israel due to internal
pressure to lash out a Bibi's ultra nationalism.
The Mideast is a ticking time bomb made infinitely more dangerous for US and Israeli interests due to the actions of the GOP, Trump and Bibi.
2
We have an inept president trying to look presidential. He’s being baited; and he’s going for the bait, “hook, line, and sinker.” On the other hand, he may want this for this 2020 run. In his unique diplomatic style he issues, in response to the growing problem with Iran that he helped to create, a public retaliatory threat in vocabulary of an injured elementary-school child demanding commanding attention ... “I’m in charge here!” And along with this, in copycat of Kim, cynically “wishes” greetings for the New Year. Pathetic; but extremely dangerous for us and the world. “Thanks” to Trump, we’re backed deeper and deeper into a corner where diplomatic options are becoming by the day minimized.
2
So while this is going on Trump is strutting around his Florida pile with the likes of Rudy. Trump withdrew from the Iran agreement, did a cut and run in Syria, and now apparently thinks air strikes in a sovereign country is a good way to start the New Year. At this point Trumps administration is so incompetent it would be better if they did a work stoppage, because nobody knows what they're doing. Nobody listens to us, nobody cares.
5
Just a question...
Isn’t it possible that the Iraqi people are tired of the collateral damage caused by US bombings and drones? Perhaps this is a homegrown Iraqi protest. Maybe they have their own voice. We disrespect them when we attribute everything to Iran. That assumes that we think the Iraqi people are children. Just asking the question.
6
all of this appears to be the end result of his hatred for obama and his obsession with destroying obamas' legacy. we had an agreement with iran, but it wasn't good enough for trump or his ego, so now we are faced with the possibility of yet another conflict, this time with a russian backed adversary. it makes me wonder where his loyalties lie, with his buddy putin or our own national security.
2
Our allies ... and enimies understand that this admin and most of their political synchophants are concerned only about re election and self enrichment.
4
The endless, unwinnable conflict continues. Initiated under false pretenses (WMD?), the Iraqi government was rolled creating voids filled by competing elements like ISIS and the various militia. Upwards of 1/2M Iraqi’s died in the ongoing conflict. $5T and counting expended.
The war against terrorism ranks alongside trickledown economics as big lies.
Withdraw now!
5
Who would have thought the Middle East could be this complicated? "Mr. Pompeo “made clear the United States will protect and defend its people," All accept that witch in the Ukraine office.
Iran, if you're reading this, you could correct Trump's tweet to read, "This is a *warning*, not a *threat*. There, fixed it."
Iraq is in mayhem. The long suffering Iraqi people know that their wealth is being stolen from them by leaders who only care about enriching themselves and being subservient to their Iranian masters.
The Second Gulf War, after years of sanctions, was the straw that broke the camels back. Iran knows this, which is why after the protests in Iran, in which over 1,500 people were killed, they are taking the fight to the United States by way of Iraq.
You can see the level of cruelty Iran’s so called “religious” leaders are capable of on a daily basis.
Countries are being openly defiant of the US in a way seldom seen since the end of the World Wars.
1
It appears that every 40 years Iran pulls this attack-the-American-embassy stunt.
If I was Trump I would strangle Iran's economy. They make their money selling oil. I'd go to every one of Iran's oil customers and offer to fill their oil needs at a discount. Better for us to eat the difference in price than fight with Iran and their proxies in Iraq. Wars cost money and lives.
When it gets totally miserable in Iran the Iranian people will overthrow their illegal, illegitimate dictators, the ayatola and his moolas.
The so-called islamic republic of Iran is an illegal entity. It was established by armed religious fanatics. If I was Trump I would endeavor to have them expelled from the United Nations. Imagine that the Mafia took over Italy by force of arms. Would anyone look upon a Mafia-ruled Italy as a legitimate country and allow them to sit at the UN? I think not. Same thing here.
11
@MIKEinNYC There are still people in Iran today that recall seeing their friends and relatives murdered by the Shah who we installed for oil. I don't expect them to look to us as friends.
13
@John Lusk
There present dictatorial regime kills gay people and executes more people than any other country in the world, about 3 per week.
I would imagine that there are people in Iran today who recall their relatives killed under the present illegitimate, unelected religious-fanatic regime.
The difference is that we're not talking history, we're now talking presently.
1
@MIKEinNYC - "When it gets totally miserable in Iran the Iranian people will overthrow their illegal, illegitimate dictators, the ayatola and his moolas."
Yeah, still waiting for Cubans and Koreans to overthrow their government.
2
It is time to increase sanctions on Iran.
8
@tomjoe9
No, it is time to replace the space cadet in the Oval Office and save what's left of our State Department by getting rid of Pompeo.
16
It’ s time to increase sanctions on trump
2
I have no faith that Trump has a clue about what's going on in Iraq other than what he's being told by his handlers.
That said, I have a terrible feeling that Netanyahu would love nothing more than for the U.S. to fight Israel's war with Iran.
I hope we have military leaders and Congressional leaders who will closely investigate this before sending our troops into harms way to fight someone else's war.
42
Have to keep that oil flowing and change those regimes... What was that about weapons of mass destruction in 2003? Of course, there's little money for social programs here. Donald Trump: Bring all of those drones in and begin shooting civilian protesters from the sky. It will make you look presidential. Even most of the Democrats will love it!
5
These days a Trump warning is not worth the paper it is written on, since he is known to be a chronic liar and bully, Trump is incompetent enough to start a war but ignorant enough not to know how to use effective diplomacy that might keep us out of war. He has managed to be an irritant to many countries but they are learning to ignore him and even disagree with him openly. The real fear is his childlike random emotional behavior and that makes him volatile and dangerous. But there is no way to deal with such radical extremes.
18
Donald Trump has been responsible for a 20 percent increase in hate crimes- there is your hatred. We’re trying to stop a war, Trump wouldn’t dismiss the idea if it would help him get re- elected. And why would he stop his buddy Putin from taking the Crimea? Putin owns him.
1
@Jackson perhaps it would be good to start the New Year with a reality check. That would be that Trump has no idea what he's doing. Government by tweet.
3
@Jackson Perhaps you and a few others here could look at the present and the future on this first day of 2020 and stop talking about Obama and Clinton. Trump has been in office just a few weeks short of three years now. He owns the mess now.
Trump blames everything on others. His bombing of civilians in Iraq and Syria couldn't possibly be the reason people are protesting.
13
Trump killed the nuclear treaty with Iran which was the doorway to helping improve relations between the US and that nation. They signed the treaty and were abiding with it and we in turn returned to them the money we'd seized that they held in the US. But then the petty tweeter couldn't abide anything accomplished by the prior administration so he killed the treaty and kicked over the hornets' nest and now his bumbling administration has made the ME situation worse by doing airstrikes against Iranians operating in Iraq which killed Iraqis so that now the Iraqis are attacking our embassy.
Of course, now the dolt in chief is sending an additional 750 troops to Iraq to try to "handle" the situation. Happy New Year everyone -- Trump is still the number one enemy of the United States and its citizens.
35
Pompeo and other officials blame Obama's nuclear deal for Teheran's aggressive behavior! No end to the list of Trumpian spite and grievances against Obama. The lack of intellectual honesty and the incompetence of this administration is sickening. Tillerson, MacMaster, Mattis, even Bolton gone, there seems no one left to formulate a realistic, nuanced and consistent policy - we are left with a simple-minded, self-obsessed and corrupt president, with no ability to be constructive and no approach to issues but through his ranting tweets.
21
Don't you just love the way the Commander in Chief calls it a night when we have an urgent incident requiring important decision-making?
Trump never misses a game of golf, though...
25
He knows he will not be reelected.
He will start another war .
We will be lucky if he doesn't use nukes.
18
@gene
Trump is not a war monger. If you been following the Yuge propaganda push against Russia by the media it's more than likely a future Democrat as President is more likely to get us into a another war.
Had HRC been elected there would have been a many thousands dead in Syria.
Right now you're probably thing I'm a Trump supporter against blowing up Syria. I'm just pointing out once in a while you should be.
1
Some Saudi terrorists based in Afghanistan attack the World Trade Center. Pres. Bush blames Iraq and invades. Some Iraqi militants based in Iraq attack the U.S. Embassy there. Pres. Trump blames Iran. What he will do, if anything, remains to be seen. But Republican presidents seem always alert for opportunities to wag the dog.
18
There is no policy for the Middle East under this administration. The President's actions are nothing more than a that of a child swatting flies in the dark.
17
America and countries in the Middle East, get ready.
President Trump can play it down all he wants to, his being only the third president in our history to be impeached, but it certainly appears like he's up to his usual rabbit-hole distraction routine with this latest action in Iraq.
And it's a strategy he's used over and over again, all designed to throw the dogs off the scent of whatever it is he's been caught in a lie over.
Literally for years he had Bengazi to beat Hillary up with and hide behind, ans as well the entire Republican Party for that matter, or the shady Clinton Foundation or her sale of a majority stake in Uranium One. 'On and On' as the song of some years ago went, Trump just keeps it up.
The Mueller report findings, disclosures of Trump's behind the scenes correspondence with Russian-controlled Wiki Leaks during the presidential campaign. And now more meddling in another Trump-election bid, this time sending his fixer Rudy Giulani out to track down and sully the Biden name. How many more times before his Base catches on?
Are they really that naive not to realize Trump needs another shiny object, another rabbit hole? And, Voillal, let's turn up the heat on the trusty, ever-simmering Middle East, get that pot boiling over again. Yeah, send our women and men over there, putting them squarely in harm's way. Werern't we just told it was time to vacate that region and bring our troops home once and for all?
How many darn rabbits are there left?
10
The USA has spent seventeen pointless years trying to enforce a thuggish and crude will on a sovereign country, beginning with a war built on lies supplied by the CIA. The Americans insist, with the juvenilia of an action movie, that they are fighting the "bad guys." What a happy coincidence that anyone who disapproves of American imperialism is a "bad guy" and can be disappeared with absolute impunity into black sites, wherein the poor soul is tortured, murdered, or held in perpetuity. Meanwhile war criminals like that psychopath Eddie Gallagher are not only pardoned but celebrated and feted by half of the country. And they have the gall to lecture other countries about human rights! The American imperial project in Iraq has no more or less legitimacy than any Iranian "proxy." I'm sure if there is an Iraqi corollary to the recently published Afghanistan Papers it will show that everything we've been told is a lie. Republican and Democratic administrations are cut from the same cloth: 170,000 troops worldwide (that is publicly acknowledged) in 150 countries costing trillions of dollars funded through debt. To quote an American with some sense: "we are not allied with the wrong side, we are the wrong side."
16
Donald Trump will expend more blood, treasure, and good will to avenge one dead mercenary than an entire island of suffering Puerto Ricans.
23
Iran wouldn't have done this if Trump hadn't walked out of Obama's nuclear agreement.
Trump is the Dennis the Menace of foreign policy.
21
Wow. This mess could like the siege of Khe Sanh and the Iran Hostage Crisis all rolled into one.
1
Ah? So where are the cooler heads that will prevail? Are they vacationing in the islands, or maybe not in session? Do you think maybe some real leaders could find a darn a camera Trump hasn't commandeered and tell the public what Trump is doing before it's too late? Still think Trump is a petulant child Pelosi? Send in the men. Darn right I'm being sexist. She's nowhere to be heard. I can't stop this. All three people might read this.
Three years into Trump’s “Presidency “ during which he has spent most of his time watching Fox News, putting out angry tweets or self congratulating tweets, playing golf, vacationing at one of his golf resorts and flying to rallies in Trumpland, he now faces a foreign policy crisis of his own making. Unfortunately, he is as ignorant now as he was on the first day on the job. Still a loud mouth bully and coward. The Ayatollah has his number as do all the world’s autocrats. Now that Chicken Hawk Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton are advising him , what could possibly go wrong?
14
Once again the "Mainstream Media" is overreacting to this story. Once Donald Trump consults with his handlers in Moscow any conflict will be averted. In this process the Trump and Kushner families will be richly rewarded.
16
No doubt the US has been conducting a covert undeclared war against Iran for some time. Iran is responding similarly. The US obviously doesn't want to start an overt war. I expect that is because the outcome in an age of cyberwar is too unpredictable. What if, say, the US banking system goes down? And can't be restored in any reasonable time period.
8
I believe Trump will use military force as necessary. He is not opposed to war, just wars that have no strategic benefit to our country. If and when it becomes necessary to send Iran a message, I have no doubt he and our military will do so.
5
Most people here doubt that.
1
“This will not be a Benghazi” can Trump ever articulate a coherent statement about what he is going to do about anything without referencing the past? This has become his default approach to deflect from the fact that he doesn’t have a consistent foreign policy strategy. For example, remember when he criticized the previous administration’s trade policies as a failure and his trade war was supposed to be an easy win?
5
The Israelis have been bombing Syria for years but generally don't admit their involvement, the only exceptions being when Netanyahu wanted to look tough before one of the recent elections. The Iranians never admitted they attacked the Saudi oil refinery. Why can't the U.S. do the same?
3
Iran learned from North Korea that Tweets are harmless. Yes, Trump has ramped up sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy but he has done essentially nothing to stop Iran's political influence in the Middle East. Will Trump's next move be well thought out or just a Public Relations move?
2
The American Embassy in Baghdad is not like other embassies we have. It is a small city of about 100 acres surrounded by a high wall that houses thousands of diplomats and contractors and has its own power plant, fire department, residences and dining facilities. Americans leave the embassy grounds only when they have to. It is effectively an American ghetto in Baghdad.
Like all embassies they have a small contingent of Marines that function more as a police force than a military presence. Defense of embassies is always provided by the host country. And the host country here, Iraq, has for well over a decade had close ties with Iran owing to their common Shia Muslim religious ties.
Trump may be coming to appreciate that his poorly conceived "maximum pressure" policy against Iran can be countered effectively at minimum cost to Iran who has long countered American presidents as Reagan found when the Marine barracks in Lebanon were blown up by Iranian proxies killing hundreds. Reagan's response was to pull the Marines out and station them offshore and then quietly leaving.
With the impeachment hanging over Trump and his reelection campaign in process, Iran knows that Trump's, and consequently America's, vulnerability in the ME can only increase. Huff and Puff Tweets will not likely prove an adequate response to the threats he and we will face in 2020.
4
If our soldiers restrain themselves for another day or two, after having fired tear gas instead of bullets, the Iraqi's will calm down enough from their rage and the real danger will have passed. A war should never precipitate hastily or it will be lost sloppily. Sometimes you just have accept your losses to avoid a greater loss.
4
So disentangling our country from wars in the Middle East is complicated. And our diplomatic influence in the region is waning. Who knew??
6
'I think the administration has miscalculated.' said Mr. Nasr.
that statement pretty much sums up Mr. Trump's foreign policy.
8
Iran is engaged in a power struggle with this country. Trump needs to engage an experienced negotiator, maybe even one in the Obama era. We need to be firm, but not be led into a war.
1
@K.M
Sorry, but the last type of negotiator we need is one that will pay $1.7B in cash to make a deal. We can now all see how that money is being spent by Iran.
1
Sorry, but the first thing we need is an honest and skilled leader who will return a country’s frozen $1.7 billion which rightfully belongs to it, as well as employ mature diplomacy.
2
@AACNY
There's no value added to the conversation by repeating falsehoods. The JCPA did not entail any payments from the US to Iran, much less cash.
"The deal did lift some sanctions, which lifted a freeze on Iran’s assets that were held largely in foreign, not U.S., banks. And, to be clear, the money that was unfrozen belonged to Iran. It had only been made inaccessible by sanctions aimed at crippling the country’s nuclear program."
https://www.factcheck.org/2019/03/obama-didnt-give-iran-150-billion-in-cash/
1
So lets take a look here.....the Democracy embracing, nation building that was the Bush-Cheney doctrine has devolved into this: It would seem the government in Iraq is collapsing, full of ineptitude and corruption, and Iran is moving in to fill the void. Why is this a surprise to anyone? This is clearly a 'if you break, it you own it' situation. What the U.S. did was break it, under false pretenses, watched it deteriorate, and then walked away. And now because the situation is unstable there and Americans are threatened, we want a quick fix to even the score. Well when the base is running the foreign policy, decisions are made not based on what will stabilize the situation there, but what will get votes here. These are people that are convinced becoming an isolated, xenophobic, top wealthy country is the best way forward. At the same time they deny climate change and embrace fossil fuels. Do they think how amazingly unstable that part of the world will become when oil is no longer a revenue source and the peoples of the middle east have absolutely nothing to look forward to? The base can keep telling itself they can walk away, stay out of the fray, and there is no downside.Two World Wars say otherwise. We pumped lots of money into Europe to prevent a third. Imagine if we had said , back in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's, that the financial burden was too high. And walked away?
1
"Mr. Trump has also said he would like to negotiate a new nuclear agreement with Iran’s leaders. But Iran has refused to discuss its nuclear program until Mr. Trump rolls back economic sanctions, including on oil exports, a step the president has refused to take."
The administration's foreign policy strikes me as a rendition of the old song, "anything you can do, I can do better."
Why would any nation trust Donald Trump given his actions throughout the world in the past 3 years? Replacing soft diplomacy with a tightening noose of sanctions is hardly a winning strategy.
I see chickens coming home to roost in so many regions, from North Korea to Iraq and Iran. When you replace long-term strategic goals based on reality instead of bluster, tweets, and Obama hatred, you get chaos.
Which is a dangerous place to be.
3
Considering the levels of death and destruction the US has brought to Iraq over the last 17 years, why would anyone expect the Iraqis to love and welcome the endless US presence there? Let's also consider what the US has done to Iran during the same time period. There are those in this administration who are always looking for excuses to blame and attack Iran for something, but I don't think the President is actually on board with those ideas, but can easily be pushed in that direction, unfortunately. The possibility of false flag events looms large in this scenario. Beware, America!
4
If there is any further fall out or military escalation in Iraq, it is on the inepitude of Trump. Iraq was Bush's war, not Obama's. The turmoil in the Iraq-Iran-USA nexis is the result of Trump's pathologic hatred of everything Obama, specifically the Iranian nuclear deal and the dismantling of the State Department of professional diplomats with the expertise to deal with the regions complexities. Blaming the prior administration for todays problems in Iraq is a cop out and a common theme in the Trump WH. Trump is inadequate for any crisis, foreign or domestic, he will be manipulated by "not" the best people and the likes of Putin. What a nightmare.
1
I quickly reviewed the headlines and adjoining abstracts at the WAPO webpage and they report the Iraqi's have breached the embassy and our people are barricaded in a secure facility. That certainly changes my view of this. Can you elaborate on this? I'm resigned to the fact that our happiness is being supplanted with despair so I'm following the news tonight. We definitely have to vote out Trump who started all this ignorance with his chest pounding.
1
Trump's not averse to war.
That's just one more of his multitude of lies to enhance himself politically. He said it to get elected.
A president averse to war would have worked hard to ensure the Iran Nuclear Deal continued to work. Trump chucked that out like it was a roll of toilet paper - for no good reason but to get back at Obama.
In what world does breaking a working treaty with a long time enemy, installing crippling sanctions against that country and repeatedly threatening that country with fire and fury mean someone is averse to war?
I think Trump has been waiting until he needed a war for political reasons to save himself. Impeachment is now a good enough reason to distract the world with a war.
Trump was just biding his time until war would work for him politically.
This is it.
3
Always think of the "Millennium Challenge 2002" disastrous and embarrassing war games exercise whenever the US war machine gets excited about conflict with Iran. Settle down, boys. Not only will conflict with Iran turn into a bloodbath for Americans, it will reshape the world in very unpleasant ways for EVERYONE involved, expect for the war profiteers of course, who are the main drivers of conflict in Iran and conflict everywhere, anyway.
2
The chicks are coming home to roost. Trump put his campaign rhetoric ahead of foreign policy. Personal interest ahead of the people’s interest. This is his signature and I have little doubt that this mega impulse has contributed to what is unfolding in Iraq and Iran. Trump doesn’t listen to his intelligence briefings, he has no regard for history, he is distracted with wanting to please Putin, and he has gutted the state department. Trump is playing checkers while all the other others players in the region are playing chess. I fear that we are in deep trouble and there may be a time that we will need to put aside our political disgust for Trump. A united front may be our last hope of averting war. Foreign policy has never been adequately informed by regional culture and historical context. John Wayne’s persona has been more influential. Trump is about to be cornered at home and abroad. The long game of putin and Iran is playing out. I smell fear.
4
Thank you Trump for protecting the staff at the embassy by sending in support immediately. Thank you for not letting the staff die at the hands of barbarian mobs like in Benghazi, Libya. I support Trump for bringing in more troops, but we should soon declare victory and get out. We have no business in Iraq or Afghanistan at this point. Please bring our troops home.
3
Really.
Administration officials say they are restoring “deterrence” against Iran, but the president’s reluctance to use force in the Middle East may be creating an opening for Tehran.
Putin briefs Trump that US intelligence is terrible and not reliable.
Trump stops US, Korean, Japanese naval and military exercises coz Mr Kim sent him a card.
Iraq and Afghanistan are in chaos.
The US embassy in Iraq has been attacked by Iranian funded mobs.
The US diplomatic corps has budget cuts.
Mr Pompeo is no advocate for funding and supporting his staff.
I remember footage of helicopters over the US embassy in Saigon.
Gross indifference.
Trump will leave the
1
America has been engaged in decades of covert and overt existential regime change war against Iran.
On behalf of fossil fuel interests, Israel, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
If Trump wants a war with Iran no one in his infamously cowardly dishonorable and unpatriotic family will be at risk.
Nor will America have any American nor European allies and friends. While neither the United Nations Security Council nor the United Nations will support America.
While America's traditional competitors and foes China and Russia will certainly back Iran.
Moreover, Congress needs to assert it sole Congressional Constitutional power to debate, declare and pay for war before it is too late.
And if Congress will not then the American people need to rise up and remind their elected and selected hired help who really wields the ultimate sovereign power in our divided limited different power constitutional republic of united states.
8
Why did the Iraqis not overrun the entire embassy? This sounds like the work of Russia enabled by Trump! Not Iran!
2
Bring the draft back . Make it fair this time the GOP want to start a war with Iran make their sons and daughters learn what the ultimate sacrifice is really about. No more hiding in college.
6
Djjk. Couldn’t agree more. One other point you bring back the draft and this garbage will all end. You will see sixties style unrest in the streets and all the political hacks will think twice about sending our troops into situations when non military solutions are available
1
NO TO WAR! The deficit is over the moon and nothing is trickling down but accidental spillage
4
As said by Bette Davis: "Fasten you seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
Like I said: best way to distract people from
impeachment?
Start a war.
Either we get trump and the neo cons out of office or we are truly doomed. Wake up America. There is a mad man at the helm.
I cannot feel one ounce of optimism at the start of this new year as the planet burns.
4
The distractor in Chief. Nothing like nothing like an all out conflict with Iran to take everyone's mind off the impeachment. History will not be kind in regards to this administration, including those who aided and abetted. The big challenge is to right the ship and get back on course ASAP.
2
Don't even think about war with Iran!
Withdraw all the Americans associated with the embassy and withdraw all U.S. military personnel in Iraq. Isolate Iraq and Iran diplomatically and financially. Let the Iranians and the Iraqis eat sand and drink their own oil ... that may help diminish their appetite for conflict.
2
The United States government is a pathetic failure.
Iran, China and Russia have completed three days of military coordination in the Gulf of Oman and nearby seas. Iran met with Abe in Japan establishing favorable trade. Korea is coordinating intelligence with China (having rejected the 5 billion dollar extortion attempt by Trump and his thugs). Even the destitute Yemenis are absorbing hundreds of thousands of deaths and casualties from KSA and US weapons.
Then we have Mr. Lindsey Graham tweeting about Trump "acting decisively" by tweeting his insecurities to the world! Complete joke.
Let me say it again: we are on the wrong side. Better to be on no one's side ("no entanglements" said one Founder).
We are in bed with the guy who cuts off the fingers of a journalist. Mr Trump believes the guy who's murdered 20 journalists in Russia. We may not like the Iranians, but at least they are rational, they fought off the Caliphate, they helped us against the Taliban and Al Qaeda after 9/11, and on the scale of horrors in the Middle East, they are the good guys. They also have more oil than KSA and will fight to keep it.
So we are losing and we lose more every year. Better to build wind turbines and solar cells and lower the amount of oil we need. Better to make friends with the Iranians (the old guys hate us, but the young Iranians love us).
6
Please,
I don’t care who gets him out or why,
or even (remarkably),
who replaces him...
We need another President.
This one isn’t working.
13
"...The U.S. will have to deter Tehran’s terrorism without alienating Iraq..."
Easier said than done.
I think in reality it should be how you contain these Iraqi fanatics while not provoking Iran.
This nexus of Iran and Iraq is way overblown.
Recently, Iraqis stopped Iranian pilgrims from visiting some of the holiest shrines in Iraq.
There is no love lost between the two - especially a generation that remembers Iran Iraq war of attrition.
It is the fanatical leaders like Al Sadr who are the most ingrates of people ever lived.
We liberated Shiites twice - once from Saddam and most recently ISIS.
But they neither have a long term nor a short term memory.
They are happy to pull an Iran card every time it suits them.
The current Iraqi government is nothing but a hostage of this marauding gang who gave nothing to lose as there are few economic prospects for them.
I hope POTUS does not over react.
Our long term problem may be Iran.
But today our hurdle is this Shia mob in Iraq.
1
This is the most incompetent administration I have ever seen in my lifetime. Any professional who was worth their salt has either been fired by the Prez, or resigned. Who will handle this incoming debacle with Iran and Iraq?
There is nobody. We have a President that has lied over 15,000 times three years into his Presidency, spent more time playing golf than working, tweeting nasty absurdities about his adversaries, asking Fox News what positions he should take on world issues he knows nothing about, and who cannot comprehend a document position even a page long, or an explanation over 5 minutes long.
No need to talk about alleged rampant corruption, because there are new allegations every 24 hours in his ever growing swamp of his administration.
Those left are either incompetent, those looking for a higher job, or those who will do anything to "kiss the Prez's ring to be his pet of the day, busily amassing their own financial assets.
Unfortunately, this is real life, and our President better seek appropriate expert counsel to resolve his latest debacle with Iran, before becoming involved in another war for our sons and daughters to put their lives on the line for him.
4
Oh, of course, the biggest holiday season with everyone home watching TV! Of course the "Wag The Dog" movie is reality. You betcha! So what are the ratings? Will the military Television industry help Trump win again? I'm not at all surprised the Trump Republicans are competing with Jesus.
2
1979. American Embassy in Iran attacked.
2019. American Embassy in Iraq attacked.
40 years. Nothing learned.
They don't hate our freedoms. They HATE our meddling.
4
This administration has not discernable foreign "policy" except for Trump's Twitter tantrum(p)s and his weird alliances with Putin and Erdogan. Iraq is in a crisis, as is Syria. Our foreign service officers are side lined by the odd "friend of Trump" who wants to buy an ambassadorship. America has offended every ally and disparaged every alliance we built up over the past 70 years. I don't want to see what happens next in this fiasco.
4
Trump talks loudly, but carries an incredibly small stick. Iran and every other enemy of the U.S. know that, and leaders, like Putin and Kim Jong-Un, know he can be played due to his narcissism and profound ignorance. He is probably on the phone right now with his pal, Putin, asking him what he should do. It’s well past time for Republicans to wake up to the glaring fact that we have a clear and present danger to our national security sitting in the Oval Office.
4
The only thing restraining Trump's lunacy at this point is pre-election caution. If he is re-elected there will be nothing that prevents him from carrying out any military aggression anywhere he feels his 'manhood' (what little he has) is being challenged.
2
"Remember the Maine"!
Two hundred years later and no lessons learned. Everyone is still as hysterical.
1
Okay, Trump supporters, just curious, when your beloved Commander in Chief starts sending your children to die in Iran, will the scales finally fall from your eyes? Probably not . . .
52
@Abe
The GOP won’t send there kids they are to special. We need to start the draft up and make it fair . Start drafting Trumps 3 sons and put them on the front lines.
5
@Abe
We've been hearing this since he was elected. Recall how everyone claimed he was taking us to war with North Korea? (Was that before or after our economy crashed?)
The same people who are saying this are excoriating him for not having gone to war with Turkey over the Kurds and for not engaging in Kurdish nation building. And let's not forget the poor little Ukrainians, who just want to give peace a chance.
The constant carping about Trump is all over the place.
3
Considering that it’ll be Obama and Clinton’s faults, I don’t see why they would....
After all, isn’t this all the Deep State?
I’m trying to make this ridiculous enough that nobody’d take it seriously. Unfortunately, Trumpists departed from any chance of that some time ago.
8
Dear New York Times Editors (if you even have any), please stop using the phrase: "Trump says..." He is a proven, pathological liar--everything he says is a lie until proven otherwise. Or, keep repeating the same mistakes like an insane person.
25
Uh, I suspect most NYT writers figure that we can a) appreciate the fact that the guy’s President, so what he says is kinda important, b) pretty easily translate, “Trump says,” into, “So the latest giant fat lie and/or piece of idiocy is....”
Excellent article that could be even better, if it asked "Why does the USA want to lose another war?"
12
Absent from talks.
Absent intellect.
Please absent yourself from America.
11
No John Bolton fan here but I'm big enough to admit the man is right about Iran.The sooner these stuck in Middle Ages barbarian bullies learn their lesson the sooner we will have a better world.
7
@Gdk
Yeah, sure. Let's have another unwinnable war costing trillions. That'll teach 'em...
1
could say the same about the bullies stuck in North America.
Someday there will be a Democrat president, and there will be an international crisis, and the NY Times will sternly editorialize about how politics stops at the ocean's edge. And we'll all laugh and laugh and make fun of the fool Democrat President as he or she bumbles through.
1
Every foreign policy this clown has touched has been a disaster.
To be precise every Republican president has done had that record.
1
All? The majority of us- like the 2.8 million more that voted for Clinton over Trump, and the steady 54 percent that disapprove of him - will be relieved that the skilled Democratic President avoided war.
Yup! Right on schedule. As we embark on a day of widespread happiness and rejoicing at the promise of a happy New Year, the Military and Trump plunge us into despair over the possibility of another war. Indeed, the Military is the Beast, and Trump, their puppet.
6
I suggest everyone vote against Trump and Republicans so we are not blown up.
41
I wish I could believe anything this paper prints about the middle east (other than a recipe) but I can still remember the role that the New York Times and Judith Miller played in getting this country into Iraq to begin with.
Want to make things change in the middle east? Then quit tanking up your huge monster trucks and SUVs! I have not bought a gallon of gas in 10 years now and ride a bike. I don't own a car or even have a driver's license, just a state i.d. Either join me or quit harping about climate change or war in the middle east and how its someone else's fault.
To quote the great Whoopi Goldberg, "Don't bother emailing me 'cause I don't want to hear it".
11
Do you happen to have electricity? Because if you do, guess what....
America is living in the past. The words and actions of the Trump presidency have so devalued american values and everyone can see it. Do as I say, not as I do...No one can trust us anymore. When a president tells 15000 plus lies and tells others things to be done, who is going to listen?
23
To win re-election, he may start another war. Right?
19
There had better be verifiable proof that Iran is responsible, otherwise we’re looking at another weapons of mass destruction debacle.
23
As a dedicated NYTimes reader, this time I have to disagree with the premise of your story. Trump is obviously deliberately diverting attention away from his problems here with a sensational buildup in Iraq. He did in fact pound his chest at Iran so I don't accept your claim that he desires disengaging in the region. It's obvious to me the military reprisals on Sunday were deliberately designed to be disproportionately extensive to spark a war to promote the reelection of Trump and divert attention away from the Impeachment and other internal problems of his making. I strongly disagree with the premise of your story.
30
@PATRICK
Upon further consideration and alternately in defense of your writing; you very aptly illustrated the fact that Trump must be a military puppet. Thank you. Happy New Year, I hope.
3
@PATRICK So, is it fair to say that you disagree with the premise of the story?
1
Your use of the word, “deliberately,” here is nearly as out there as these sorts of pseudo-leftist explanations of how things work.
There is no cackling Mr. Burns, fella. No Deep State, no evil Board of directors à la “Network,” no secret phone that Boeing snd Jamie Diamon and They use to call the President and issue orders. Doesn’t work that way, okay?
Because Marx was right about modern capitalism: the Old Mole has finally tunnelled out into the light. What you see is what you get, and lefties need to get over these CPUSA understandings.
The slogan the Iraqi's are chanting was originally chanted by the Iranian students who attacked our embassy in Tehran and took our people there as hostages for a long time. The photo's are always important. They show brand new flags wielded by the Iragi attackers at the Baghdad embassy. That indicates organization from the flags, to the slogan.
So now, remember that back around 1980 in the Tehran embassy debacle, Democrat Carter was President after a failed military rescue attempt in Iran in which the helicopter's engines were unshielded from the blown up dust leading to a failure of the mission. It was election time and the Republican Reagan ran against the incumbent Carter. Reagan talked really tough and the hostages from the embassy were released the day he was inaugurated.
I have a problem with the news that our military conducted disproportionate instigating attacks on the militias that killed dozens because they killed one, which I too resent, so stay with me on this.
I'm thinking along the lines of a deliberate overexertion of military force that was meant to spark a wider conflict to empower Trump, the military favorite, now at a time of deep political controversy with the impeachment and a fast approaching Presidential election.
Are the Republicans low enough to spark a war to get their favorite elected and to divert the nation from internal political plight? You betcha!
reposted 11:59 PM
10
Hey Pat do you also Remember that saint Reagan negotiated with Iran to keep the hostages until after the election so he would win? Then he sold millions of dollars worth of missiles to them for cash?
3
Our foolish president instigated this conflict by withdrawing from the nuclear treaty with Iran solely because it was agreed to by his predecessor. Now, he is being artfully played by Iran, which knows he will only bluster, and then capitulate with the venire of a "deal" that will reduce sanctions to avoid an escalation that will cost many American lives. Trump's followers will buy it, but the rest of the world will see it for what it is, desperate posturing.
26
@Jackbook
I believe Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal because Israel did not like it and Benny would love to see the US engage with Iran.
5
Iran should have been the first military target, instead America went for Iraq. Wrong military target of enemy!
3
@Mohammad Azeemullah Americans have a poor sense of geography, especially if nations have similar-sounding names.
1
Every rogue country on the planet knows Trump is a coward who just spouts hot air when he's challenged.
Trump has been a coward his entire life, which is why he's a bully but when push comes to shove he backs down and brags about his "big button".
That the strongest nation in the world is be led by the such a coward is an insult to our dedicated troops who he cons and misuses.
18
@Ken Solin Yep.
5
The US has been gunning for Iran for decades with the insistence of certain lobby groups. Their reason for going into Iraq, Syria, etc., and staying in Afghanistan for so long, was to ultimately surround and choke Iran.
The American war machine, like Taliban warriors, knows no other skill than fighting. They have become useless for anything else. And US also appears, at times, to be a military wing of Israel that has been itching for war with Iran since the 70s.
Why the US got embroiled in the Middle East is well known, how it will get out is still unknown. It's a mess.
There are, unfortunately, people and leaders addicted to darkness, conflicts, wars, arrogant warriorship, etc. on both sides. They know no normalacy.
Iran too has to change.
There are too many arrogant provincial misogynistic backward men in the Middle East. Which educated enlightened liberal woman wants to go live or work there? Not many!
5
And a Happy New Year to you to, mr president.
1
I smell a "wag the dog" operation engineered by Putin.
4
James: no, no, the President did it all on his own.
1
Giant Twitter-bot: "Danger, danger, Will Robinson. Happy New Year!"
Churchill before and after WW2 was an 'anachronism' completely out of step with world events and his vision of a Great Britain with a British Empire at the top of the world.
Trump is beginning to sound more and more like that : an American President more and more out of tune with a world where America and the American Army no longer are seen as superior at any level of policy, aid, presence or even influence.
5
This administration has been looking for any excuse to start a war with Iran. I hope everyone is ready for a potential draft, as I don’t think we can maintain an all volunteer service after 20 years of war.
Elections have consequences, and the super rich rarely face them. It will be the sons and daughters of the poor sent to die for trumps vanity and poor temper.
5
The current administration has no experience with international relations and is not willing to appoint sophisticated people to the administration to provide appropriate advice.
4
I would imagine it's hard for Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia to take seriously a leader who issues ultimatums from golf courses and Twitter accounts. I hope 2020 doesn't begin with Trump bloviating and blundering his way into a war.
18
Now, more than ever, we really really need competent leadership to prevent the complete collapse of the Middle East. Alas, there is nobody in sight for that role, most especially Trump. His incompetence is blinding.
7
Our president's choice of words in his tweet, specifically making his "threat," will complicate any diplomacy. We're driving a clown car to the negotiation.
16
"Mr. Trump has not spoken to reporters since Christmas Eve and was absent from a Sunday evening news briefing at Mar-a-Lago"
The impact of the impeachment articles ....
3
Wrong - it’s the impact of his mania for golf that has thus far consumed 1 in 5 days in his presidency and has cost U.S. taxpayers $115,000,000 to date.
3
Use force against, who? Some citizens of Iraq?
8
In the run up to the 2020 election I’m concerned we will see many more military surgical strikes like these.
His base will cheer for more as the press releases the video of these sickening actions, they will be demanding more. He will have someone bring him a a list of chants like “ blow them up “, have a new “BTU” made to sign at his rally’s.
I wish there was a vaccination to end bloodlust and stupidity because if not we will end like we began, with a big beautiful bang.
5
Interesting that Putin unveiled his new supersonic missile system just before Trump approves the attack.
5
This is a wonderful opportunity for “Spurs “ and “Blade” to get some real male bonding underway and perhaps find some new marketing opportunities
6
We’ll lose. That’s the American way arrogant and incompetent. Trumps bluster. What he says is usually an unregulated prolonged vocal vibration void of substance.
4
Trump did not get us into this Middle East cess pool. That was the handiwork of prior presidents who thought we could do nation building as we did in Europe at the end of WW 2!
5
@Judy Weller
Well, of course he didn't, but he is a continuation of the same bad policy-making.
4
Perhaps not, but his total incompetency is certainly ratcheting up trouble, and for that he should accept responsibility.
4
@Judy Weller
Fascinating how NYT readers go from blaming Bush to blaming Trump, conveniently skipping over Obama as if he never sent troops or that $1.7 billion to make his Iranian deal.
Trump is the first president, and certainly the first republican president, who has eschewed the military's pressure to remain at war. He only uses force when absolutely necessary, which is more than we can say for all previous presidents.
If anything, Trump will put the US back on track in the Middle East. We'll only engage when it suits our strategic interests.
3
The US has been gunning for Iran for decades with the insistence of certain lobby groups. Their reason for going into Iraq, Syria, etc., and staying in Afghanistan for so long, was to ultimately surround and choke Iran. The American war machine, like Taliban warriors, knows no other skill than fighting. They have become useless for anything else. And US appears, at times, to be a military wing of Israel that has been itching for war with Iran since the 70s. Why the US got embroiled in the Middle East is well know, how it will get out still remains unknown. It's a mess. There are people addicted to darkness, conflicts, wars, arrogant warriorship, etc. on both sides. Iran too has to change. There are too many arrogant provincial misogynistic backward men in the Middle East. Which educated enlightened liberal woman wants to go live or work there.
1
A war against Iran now is premature for Trump. The war with Iran would give him reason to declare a national emergency giving him massive temporary powers, but now is too soon. To obtain best personal value from such a war he would wait until a few months until the election and then unleash his war on Iran. A declaration of a national emergency would immediately follow and, with the backing of the Senate, a tank with Trump at the helm would be driven through the edifice of US democracy.
15
Iran knows, as do many nations, that trump is just a paper tiger. He talks a lot but says nothing. These nations understand that trump does not have the political will or the intelligence to effectively carry out threats to sovereign nations. He is a weak leader who can be easily taken advantage of when conditions warrant.
11
The War Powers Resolution (also known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act) (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548)[1] is a federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. The Resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congressional joint resolution. It provides that the U.S. President can send the Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, "statutory authorization," or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without a Congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.
One more chance for Trump to ignore Congress.
3
From the NY Times 2008
"Obama's remarks on Iraq and Afghanistan'
" And that’s why, as President, I will make the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban the top priority that it should be. This is a war that we have to win.
I will send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, and use this commitment to seek greater contributions – with fewer restrictions – from NATO allies.
The NY TImes , 2008/07/15/
We spend $ 2 Trillion , and more than 2,000 American lives and 12 years later we are not any closer to winning. Indeed
we are edging towards defeat
No fan of Trump, but throwing good money after bad is foolish.
He is right in not getting involved more in the Mid East
7
But open your brain he is getting more involved. Close your ears, they are being inundated with lies.
5
Trump inherited a mess in the Middle East. He is in danger of making of making it far worse. It is pass time for tax paying Americans to hold politicians accountable for using the national treasury to address the climate crisis, facilitate the availability of quality health care for all citizens, rebuild our collapsing infrastructure and many other things that should be priorities.
War with Iran is not in the interest of the U.S. Nor was the war with Iraq; the consequences of which we continue to endure after almost two decades.
11
Donald Trump’s resume: Running the Apprentice Show.
Remember?
And our country is entrusted in his hands? Really?
24
@MIMA Community Organizer is what we need from now on.
1
Iran wants a deal. So deal.
2
Time to “rally round the flag boys”. It is coming.
@Mark
Which flag are Americans to rally round?
The flag of the Russian Federation or
the flag of Israel?
1
Donald Trump speaks with a small brain and small hands. Iran knows this. His language might be bellicose but that’s as far as it goes. North Korea knows this too.
13
As the stress of impeachment bears down on Trump, look for him to start a war with Iran. Eight years ago he accused Obama via Twitter of plotting to do exactly that. With Trump’s track record of projection, I’m predicting we will be at war with Iran before Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Fortunately, Trump knows more about war than the Generals, and the conflict should over by the election. Nobody knows more about battlefield strategy and tactics than Trump.
25th Amendment please. And if that doesn't happen, VOTE STRAIGHT DEMOCRAT IN NOVEMBER - that is, if our nation still exists then.
34
The 25th Amendment won't happen unless he's in a coma so I wouldn't get your hopes up about that.
3
Relying on 'gut instincts' doesn't work well in NY Real Estate, where Trump has lost billions.
It works worse in international relations, where Trump is losing American supremacy, putting our country at great risk.
In order of importance, Trump is losing to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. We haven't been weaker since the end of the Civil War.
Dan Kravitz
Dan Kravitz
16
Interesting reference. We were weakest related to the Civil War and now by coincidence we are in the midst of another civil war and our country is weak and losing.
1
President Trump, is good at one thing, and one thing only and that is intentionally making a mess of everything he touches. Trump voters thought that would be a good idea. Unfortunately, with world peace in the balance, he is incapable of imagining, let alone considering, the consequences of his actions. Not only is our country on the edge of the abyss, so is the world.
7
The mess in the Middle East is the product of previous Presidents. Why did Bush invade Iraq?? Where was Congress who could have stopped him? Why did Obama agree to the destruction of Libya? Why did Obama agree to a consulate in Benghazi? Why did he fail to support Mubarak but supported the Muslim brotherhood leaders instead? Why did Obama keep saying "Assad must go" while turning a blind eye to radical Islamists flooding the county?
When you find an answer to those questions you may begin to understand why we have such a mess in the Middle East!
6
@Judy Weller Obama the worst president in recent memory .Loved by the press who overlooks al his faults
3
@Judy. Very interesting, you write one short sentence naming President George W. Bush as responsible for the mess in Iraq and then go on to criticize President Obama for actions in Libya. George W. Bush will have the dubious honor of being the worst president in US history. He lied us into a disastrous war that blew up the Middle East and led to the chaos that continues today. The only President who may challenge this infamy is another Republican President: Donald Trump.
How honorable or justified are our intentions and actions regarding Iran? I'm suspicious of why we call any country our enemy. Who really knows what goes on in the region. The propaganda is so thick.
3
Well, right on cue-- Trump said that he does not foresee or want war with Iran. BTW--He didn't tweet anything about the joint Russian. China and Iranian naval exercises in the Persian Gulf. I wonder if Putin told him not too. Or maybe he understands that any attack on Iran might provoke China and Russia. They understand that Trump is all mouth.
3
Seriously, I don't think we have any allies left. And if we do no one believes Trump. He's been after Iran from day 1. Treaty after treaty, he's broken them all.
9
Trump is like a domestic abuser. He bombs Iraq and then says "Iran made me do it." Then when there is a backlash by the Iraqis who have had dozens killed in the air strikes, Trump once again blames Iran.
That is his consistent fall back position. Whatever goes wrong in the Middle East, it is Iran's fault, even if it is the United States creating havoc.
Of course, he knows nothing about the region, nothing about Iran, nothing about its history with Iraq, nothing about how Iran was decisive in defeating ISIS, nothing about regional stability, nothing about anything, really. He undoubtedly got his marching orders on this from Bibi Netanyahu.
But, folks, lets be thankful. Trump has brought us to the brink of another Middle East War. Just what we need for the New Year. I'm sure he never imagined that this would help his re-election--in a pig's eye!. It is the perfect distraction from the impeachment accusations and all his other lies, crimes, and inadequacies.
Yes sir, a nice little war really comes in handy when a president is under siege. Ask George W. Bush.
16
Would Russia sit idly by if nuclear armed US attacked its neighbor?. The war mongers have got hold of the President's mind and maybe even John Bolton never left. Bolton the bomb-bomb Iran warrior that somehow had become the darling of the Democrats.
4
its just as well the USA doesnt believe in global warming, cause if they did they would blame Irn for it. (Trump even with all his failures is just following US foreign policy after all.)
2
As did Obama. Our military will be decisively defeated in the next war. We have the brawn, Iran has the brains.
3
"President fake bone spur" is about to start WW3.
4
Trump, you bomb Iraq and Iraqis get angry. They don’t need Iranian encouragement. Quit causing problems for our country.
13
"Spittin' in the wind comes back at you twice as hard.". ---Lou Reed
6
The world doesn't respect this clown.
21
Is this meant to help Netanyahu’s tenuous political future? It sure seems that way.
18
The world knows that Trump is all bluster. He tweets before he thinks.
15
A fanatical theocracy stuck in the 7th-century with nuclear ambitions. What could go wrong? Harden the sanctions and encourage more uprisings against this 40-year old mistake. Appeasement didn't work for Chamberlain, as it didn't work for President Obama and his crates of cash.
8
@Spanky FYI- Obama didn't appease Iran-- he made a deal with them which was working.
17
@Spanky did you forget that the $$$ sent to Iran had been frozen since the Carter administration?
2
@Spanky -- ah, Iran didn't start the war the US did. We were going to show them just how tough we are. Oops.
5
So for a single contractor’s unfortunate demise, the investigation of which could and should have taken place through the proper judicial channels, the US responds with airstrikes against some hitherto unknown groups of people on the territory of 2 sovereign countries without the respective governments’ request, let alone approval, trying to shrug off culpability by blaming a third and threatening to set the entire Middle East aflame.
Again.
19
The neocon hawks are flying and Trump may finally feel that he must pull the trigger with Iran and "wag the dog" in order to claim the mantle of of a "war-time president" to help his re-election. With a large Shiite population Iraq has always been influenced by Iran since the ill-fated regime change war to topple Saddam Hussein. This is the price we're paying for taking sides in the Muslim civil war between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia that has us allied with the Saudis in fighting Iranian proxies in Yemen in what is a major humanitarian catastrophe and now attacking Iranian proxies in Iraq. It's a quagmire that's about to pull us deeper into a major military confrontation with Iran with no "exit strategy." This is the folly of our alliance with the bloodthirsty dictator of medieval Saudi Arabia who murdered a resident American journalist and our failed policy of regime change and nation-building. The only regime change that will end this folly is here at home.
8
How come the British and French uphold their Sykes Picot Treaty and the USA covers the Aramco deal? Russia protects the Armenians. Things were better 100 years ago!
1
@Paul Wortman - "...in order to claim the mantle of of a "war-time president""
Hello, he already is a war-time president. Afghanistan?
1
Please God, if you are listening, guide our president to resign.
16
That would require him admitting he's wrong. You may as well pray for gum drops and lollipops to rain down from the sky.
1
"Some foreign policy analysts said the fast-moving crisis pointed to muddled thinking within the Trump administration about its approach toward Iran."
...muddled thinking within the Trump administration?
(pause)
(sigh)
Ya think?!!!
6
@Ralph Averill
Trump's foreign policy cliff notes say, "Iran=bad, Iran=bad, Iran = bad..."
Benghazi, anyone?
2
@Perle Besserman
Bengolfi?
2
this is what being in way over your head and far out of your depth looks like.
28
Trump warns - what will he do? Get into a shooting war? He is luckily too afraid to do that and now that Bolton's out- well Trump will bluster as he did with N. Korea. And more to the point, the State Dept. has been hollowed out - there are no more people with expertise or the ability to conduct diplomacy. It is just Trump and his stooge Pompeo. I think Iranians realize that Trump's even dumber than Ahmedinijad
4
Once upon a time, a long time ago, weren't we on the road to a more constructive relationship with Iran--thanks to Obama's more positive foreign policy and John Kerry's negotiating skills that led to a multilateral nuclear peace agreement with Iran?
Then Bone-Spur Trump got elected as president by the Electoral College (but not the popular vote) in 2016, and very quickly the U.S. turned from cultivating friends in the world to making just about every country an enemy--including our European allies and even Canada, oh but not Putin.
So Trump will now be making the decisions and leading our country either toward or away from a possible war with Iran and deeper involvement in the Middle East.
What could possibly go wrong?
One of the weakest men who has ever been president, Donald J. Trump, can now cast himself as "strong" as our Commander-in-Chief, making all those military and policy decisions about sending our soldiers to an expanded war in the Middle East.
Not to worry. During the 2016 campaign, Trump bragged he had military experience because he attended military school--never mind he got himself out of actual realtime military duty during the Vietnam war because of a note from his doctor that claimed Trump had a bone spur.
It is all in Trump's hands now. Sleep well tonight. I am sure Trump will come up with something to make matters worse, as he almost always does. And then there are all those fine cabinet officers and advisors willing to work for Mr. Trump...
16
There will be no armed conflict with Iran.
But the Trump administration can do so much more to combat Iran diplomatically than it is currently doing.
1. Oil is being smuggled out of Iran to escape sanctions. The US should implement a bounty program where private entities or governments which lead to interception of an illegal shipment share in half the value of the shipment with the US keeping the other half.
2. In Iraq the US government should drop leaflets warning family members of Iran-backed militias that their husbands and sons are putting their lives at risk suggesting that they pressure their loved ones to join militias not backed by Iran. They should make very clear that the US has no interest in harming Iraqi citizens, but that citizens who join Iran-backed militias choose to put their lives at risk unnecessarily.
3. Work with US producers of oil and gas production to increase oil exports to further depress the oil market. Oil production and exports have increased under Trump and the administration should be very active with policy and financial incentives to export much larger quantities of oil & gas.
Regarding the Obama agreement, current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) was against the agreement which Obama had negotiated. General David Petraeus who was not only in charge of troops in Iraq but also a CIA Director agrees that Trump did the right thing rescind the poorly done Obama agreement with Iran.
2
"This is not a Warning, it is a Threat." Shouldn't this be the other way around? No schoolyard bully worthy of the name would make this mistake. How could the Master of Invective get this one wrong?
7
Just one honest question: Since Russia is Iran's ally, just how far will Trump go to defy his friend, Putin, to defend U.S interests in the region?
8
After 18 years in Afghanistan, 16 years in Iraq, I am certain that a large majority of Americans are sick and tired of the lies, charades, and the death and destruction. If modern day press coverage of the wars were like it was in during the SE Asia debacle, the Middle East Campaigns would have never began or ended sooner. If Lindsey and Tom want war, give them a musket and ship them off. What they say is cheap crass politics pandering to the military/industrial complex. How much more death and destruction will bring the desired results or satisfy profits?
6
@Moses - If we still had a draft, the war in Afghanistan would be over. No one cares because no one has to go to the doctor to get a phony letter about bone-spurs. The Dems have proven that they are not going to stop the war and why would the Repubs?
1
Iran has been very diplomatic and I believe will continue to do so. It is the US that has been meddling everywhere there and causing havoc all across the ME. It seems that US wants to spread more of that same havoc in Iran.
I recommend that Iran develop weaponry that would sink an aircraft carrier, and buy some of those hypersonic missiles from Russia... only for defensive purposes. An aircraft that attacks anyone from a carrier makes the carrier a valid target and, in my opinion, should be sunk.
US should not be allowed to do all this with impunity. There have to be real costs.
1
Absolutely. I’d love to see that happen.
Alas this leaves Poor, jilted Kim Jong Un out in the cold he cannot get his lovers attentions even with the promises of lifting his self imposed moratorium on long range nuclear missile tests. Trump is giving him the silent treatment. Your stable genius has moved onto another geopolitical problem to secure another win. After all its mission accomplished in North Korea!
4
This is classic 'wag the dog.' Trump causes the problem in the first place by breaking the treaty with Iran, now is using this incident potentially to launch a conflict with Iran, and of course divert attention from Trumpgate. Millions of innocents will pay the price for this latest inanity of his.
5
These events occurred because Trump is weak and as impressionable as a child. The real backlash will come after New Year's Day.
And what a remarkable Christian Trump is! "Peace on earth"?
Bottom line: Trump starting making us less safe the day he was elected and will continue until he is removed or thrown out by the voters.
4
Feel that dog being wagged? I sure do. Nothing says 'What impeachment?' like starting a war for fun and profit...and deflection. There isn't one intelligent and rational human being on this planet that doesn't think for one second that Trump and/or the GOP would go to war and murder hundreds of thousands of people for their own benefit.
8
A perfect distraction opportunity for Mr. Trump, as he thrives on these.
3
In a few months, it'll take a war to keep Trump in office.
2
@T Raymond Anthony - He is already in two different wars. If he wasn't, we would not have troops in Afghanistan and Syria/Iraq.
2
This is expected to distract from impeachment.
15
@HBCIB
What impeachment ?
No articles have been presented to the Senate.
2
@Norville T. Johnstone He's impeached no matter what the Republicans in the Senate and you think.
6
@Norville T. Johnstone He was impeached. He has not been convicted by the Senate or removed. His impeachment is an undeniable fact.
2
This leads back the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution 2002. The Iraq War, destabilization of the Middle East, the deaths of approx 4400 US personnel, approx 300k Iraqis, the rise of ISIS, trillions of US dollars wasted, continued military presence in the region. Stop the aiding and abetting of this behavior of our Country, stop voting for those politicians who voted yes for the Iraq Resolution 2002, that includes notable Democrats as Sen Schumer, VP Biden. These endless wars will never stop until we as a country stop voting for these politicians who green light these wars.
5
The Liar is all bluster.
He might send a few planes ans missiles but he will talk himself out of it. A loud mouth, that is what he is.
He belongs on a ‘’Gong Show’'.
19
Hey??!
Stop playing around!!
3
It is so very reassuring to know that our Middle East foreign policy rests in the feeble mind of Trump.
Happy? New Year.
24
Trump had no plan when he tore up the JCPOA. He certainly had to know his arson would increase Iranian belligerence. But he’d spent so much time lying about the accord on the campaign trail that he didn’t care about his next move, his base bought all those lies and loved the rhetoric.
But it’s okay everyone, our President is tweeting that he didn’t play golf today. So we can all rest easy tonight.
8
I wonder if he will have to cancel his golf game tomorrow.
14
History will be written the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history is our entanglement in Middle East affairs. We have the Germans to thank for the holocaust and the west’s obsession with Jewish guilt and the need for the state of Israel and the evangelicals obsession with the holy lands. Oh, and everyone’s else’s obsession with the automobile
6
Oh, a warning from our dear leader....Trump is a no go showboat...warning, warning, warning.....real dictators, Putin for example, they don't warn, they do...of course with Trump, doing has always been a problem....
5
Caption for the lead photo: Profiles in Bone Spurage.
10
The Middle East has been a major problem for some time. But we certainly do not need an incompetent president and WH staff to screw things up even more. He dumped on the Iran treaty and added harsh sanctions without any diplomacy efforts. If he is not the direct cause, he is most likely to aggravate the situation as he is doing already.
7
The American Arms Industry must be very happy today. Nothing like 'little wars' to keep those quarterly profits rolling in.
Boeing, just one of dozens of suppler, is very needy after the 737 MAX disaster. If there's a little war with Iran, look what they can sell Uncle Sam: https://www.boeing.com/defense/
Well, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He's got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in old Iran
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And it's one, two, three,
What are we fighting for ?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next stop is old Iran;
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
Come on Wall Street, don't be slow,
Why man, this is war au-go-go
There's plenty good money to be made
By supplying the Army with the tools of its trade,
But just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb,
They drop it on the Imperial Guard.
Well, come on generals, let's move fast;
Your big chance has come at last.
Now you can go out and get those reds
'Cause the only good Ayatollah is the one that's dead
And you know that peace can only be won
When we've blown 'em all to kingdom come.
Come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to old Iran.
Come on fathers, and don't hesitate
To send your sons off before it's too late.
And you can be the first ones in your block
To have your boy come home in a box. - Country Joe
6
Don’t do it Donny, you are not smart enough.
7
blowhard. nothing more.
7
Great, we have a complete idiot in the White House.
9
But the stock market is doing well, so it's all good.
3
@Bonnie Huggins
Yeah, but we could have a good stock market without Trumpty--he signed the tax cuts, so now he's superfluous, right?
2
The other tyrants of the world have figured out that Trump is all bark and no bite. Ferocious tweets now have no effect. So he is going to be challenged. The problem is that Trump's responses are likely to lack any basis in coherent policy. Attending to the momentary needs of his tender ego will claim top priority. It's a recipe for chaos.
5
Enemies like Iran and North Korea pounce when they see weakness and ignorance. Let's see if the coward with heel spurs can step up.
5
Get out. No reason to be there in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth ....... place.
3
Trump, Pompeo and Pence, thrilled at the prospect of a holy war, a 21st century crusade, are salivating at the opportunity to go to total war with the support of the evangelical Republican fanatics.
The Red Hats are jumping and twirling in divine madness, ecstatically murmuring the same word over and over--Rapture, Rapture, Rapture.
13
The Iraq war - started by a clueless president who like an infant fell under the spell of neocon Rasputins who cooked intelligence and defied the strategic advice of military command - rages on. How else could it not end?
8
This President wants a war.
7
@Pen Vs. Sword - So did the last one and the one before that.
Have no fear Trump will stumble into a war with Iran and wind up committing American forces that will have no friends except Israel in the region. We will naturally back out of the mid east because Trump wants to win an election and an other protracted war would kill his chances. A lot of American soldiers will be killed or wounded in this scenario, but have no fear republicans will pray for them. Be afraid be very afraid, Trump and his republicans are idiots.
7
Yeah, the faux tough guy flexes his Twitter muscles while hiding behind the door of his bedroom.
What a farce. What a joke. Real tough. Real tough.
Coward.
11/3/20. VOTE.
5
@Guitar M
More likely he's hiding behind the door of the bathroom, but otherwise you've got it right.
2
one can only imagine the level of progress that North Korea will make with nuclear missile development If Trump engages in a war with Iran. China would take advantage of the situation as well. the u.s. is getting stretched out between the Middle East and the Far East
163
@David B. North Korea's Russian friends can always help out too. New missile capacity just announced
12
@David B.
The chances of a major ground clash between US and Iranian forces (militias included) are exceedingly remote. Attacks on embassies will be about the extent of it.
The reason: The US doesn't need Gulf oil any more. In fact, it doesn't need the ME. This fact fundamentally changes the situation. Following the unanswered drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, the Saudis know this now too.
US forces can sit back and strike from a distance as and when they feel like it. They don't need to protect assets on the ground.
Thus, like it or not, the US military has no strategic need to over-extend itself protecting gound assets in the ME and the FE.
It's the oil importing world that really.....really needs to protect ground assets in the ME.
Do you think Trump gives a toss about the oil importing world?
Over the last few decades Europe has specialized in sanctimoniously heckling the US from the cheap seats. However, they seem to have forgotten the ONE fundamental rule of international relations....that nations don't have friends, they have interests.
The US has no interest in protecting ground assets in the ME any more. For an oil importing continent full of sanctimonious pacifists, that looks like a big problem.
8
@Andrew I totally agree that the U.S. is overextended and doesn't need to remain tethered to the ME. However, I don't see Trump eliminating or reducing our deployments; in fact, 750 paratroopers are on the way and another 4000 are being prepped. I hope that you are right and he doesn't give a toss about any of it because the prospects are frightening and the president seems unprepared and unfit. We are now facing an alliance of China and Russia augmented by an array of asymmetrical, highly mobile enemies.
13
The biggest fear is that trump will believe that getting into a war will be his "winning ticket" for the 2020 election - Iran is his target and not MBS, Erdogan, Putin and Zelensky will stand in trump's way - nor will the EU.
The will of half of the electorate is against any war. Will trump go "against the will of the people?"
4
Anyone who doubted that Trump was actually the dove he said he was is looking pretty silly now. I have no doubt that the proven hawk Hillary would have intervened militarily in Iran by now. Obama might have too.
2
Like watchung live version of the 1997 movie 'Wag The Dog' except DeNiro, while being dishonest was at least a decent person.
If this spirals out of control Congress short insist the first on the front lines should be Donald Jr, and Eric, led by Kushner since he was supposed to solve all Middle East problems. The Gong Show continues!
2
One hundred million people.
All trump's bluster doesn't take into account that population.
Short of a nuclear attack , trump's options will be met with defiance.
Alined with China and Russia, Iran will defend itself and make trump's attack the scourge of the middle east.
Oil will soar, refugees will flood our allies borders. Casualties will effect every party, and for what ?
For the whim of an indicted president.
7
Gee I thought Jared already fixed the Mid East.
6
War with Iran would be in the interests of Saudi Arabia and Israel. It would NOT be in the interests of the US.
So Donald, just who do you represent?
4
Where’s Waldo, sorry, where’s Jarrod, the Middle East dealmaker?
4
As much as I hate Trump, let us not forget how very awful Bush Jr was and damage and instability he caused
5
Sooooo between, Kushner, Pompeo and trump what could possibly go wrong????? Hey trump could send his "secret weapon" Ivanka and straighten things out??
3
The Middle East is learning what we've learned as time goes on. Trump, far from being the wild eyed war monger that was predicted 3 years ago, may actually be rather timid when it comes to using military force. He generally talks very tough and threatening but rarely acts. The good news is, he seems uninclined to start another ill-conceived war. The bad news is his unpredictability, which may have some value, in some other situations may lead to unintended consequences and actions when enemies or even allies don't know what to expect or how to react to the latest scenario.
150
@Al I would not trust him with a rescue dog let alone the fate of the planet.
99
@The Shredder
Hey, Ive worked with rescue dogs. They deserve better than the gop.
What I'm saying is his unpredictability may have some value in trade negotiations or other situations, but I'm not so sure when it concerns religious fundamentalists and nukes. The ME has defeated all attempts at reasonable solutions. Not surprising given the fact that everybody there (and some here) think god is on their side and has told them what to do.
18
@Al The biggest issue is the ability of those near Trump to whisper in his ear and influence his actions. Just tell him that Iran is laughing at him, and he'll be ready to send in troops, fly the drones, etc. -- whatever it takes to be (i.e. look like) a winner. Pompeo is an evangelical who believes in Middle East chaos as preparation for the second coming, and he has Trump's ear. And there are the other neo-cons, including the FOX News crowd, who believe a war proves Trump strong now that he has proven weak -- he didn't "like" the war in Vietnam, which led to the mysterious growth of bone spurs, and now he has no spine, nor do his GOP handlers. Then again, maybe Putin is providing all the guidance Trump needs in how to be perceived as strong and a winner.
44
Is anyone as concerned as I am that Iran recently held joint military exercises with, of all countries, China and Russia. We must stop this escalation of hostilities with inflammatory rhetoric (know as tweets). We could just be at the doorstep of another world war.
293
@Jimmy
I honestly believe Trump’s endgame is to allow Russia to take over America. No I am not joking. Everything he does supports my theory. Trump and Putin have always had a endgame. Why would he hide the phone calls and meetings they have and leave no notes or other witnesses to them. Why do reasonable people have to pretend this isn’t happening, why does the press pretend it isn’t happening?
83
@Jimmy source for this comment?
4
@MEH The joint exercises were reported recently, not sure where, probably WaPo or NYT or Cnn. Not Fox
15
Every American should be made to read the recent series in the Washington Post "The Afghanistan Papers" to see what a wasteful and useless effort that continuing war is. Wasted lives and wasted money yet everyone said we were winning. The same people want us to go into Iran. Iran will be the war that will bankrupt us.
256
They can also really hurt us.
5
Chris, don't forget the biggest winners of all: the so-called Islamic State, who's got us fighting Muslims on all fronts "commanded" by a loser who instinctively hates Muslims (except actually-evil ones like Murderous Bovine Sewage); bin Laden, who's got us right in the costly quagmire he wanted; and of course President Cheney and Dubya, who look stately compared to the loser.
14
@Jack , but think how much money the U.S. military economy has made. not all have lost out. lots of employment. lots of profit.
2
President Trump needs to get all the way out of of both Iraq and Syria. We don't know who fired the rockets that killed the American "contractor" (a euphemism for mercenary) but we can be sure that the militia base attacked by the U.S. had nothing to do with it, because it was located hundreds of miles away. Now the obscenely large Bush-era "embassy" is being attacked by angry mobs, as Trump's neocon advisers drag him and lie him and the American people into a war with Iran. President Trump must immediately fire Mike Pompeo as his did Bolton. Just get all the way out, Mr. President, and fire anybody who tries to stop you.
124
@Tony Wicher He needs the pretense to begin another Cold War with Russia. Putin and the Russian economy need it and our own MIC did well in the first Cold War years too. They're just setting the stage. (Iran is backed by Russia, and Trump wants Putin to be his friend. He doesn't REALLY want a hot war with Russia.) This is a "Wag the Dog" moment.
6
@Tony Wicher
Impeached Trump needs to resign and take his corrupt lawyer, AG, Chief of Staff and family of lowlifes with him..
67
@Tony Wicher
Sure, Trump is the wise guy, who is just badly influenced and ill advised by the people around him. He just needs to fire everybody and then he is free to show his wisdom. Just let Trump be Trump and he will lead the country into a golden future. /s
16
Obama clearly understood that they would be no peace in the Middle East unless we have a deal with Iran. In the past, we thought Saudi Arabia would intercede and help bring stability but it became clear that they could not even handle tiny rebellions in their border with Yemen. Money cannot buy everything. Israel built walls and protected themselves and inadvertently let Iran become the biggest player with sphere of influence from South Asia, Emirates, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Obama was right in his approach to engage Iran just like he did with Cuba. Had we remained engaged we would have dealt with Syria and ISIS and even Venezuela differently. We took a turn for the worse. Elections will always have consequences.
570
@SridharC
I get that st Obama is seen in frosty rose tinited glasses particularly when compared to mr subtle in the WH now. But let's be a little more fact based. Russia took Crimea while BHO was in office because they knew he wouldn't do anything. And he didn't. It took trump, you know, putins stooge, to give Ukraine lethal weapons to fight the Russians. In Iraq, Obamas draw down was second only to "W"s initial invasion in the creation of isis. A tepid response to the Lybian mess has helped that country descend deeper into chaos. In Syria the uncrossable lines were crossed so many times, people stopped counting. Make no mistake, these are all, like Iran, very difficult problems, but obama was no master of diplomacy or foreign affairs. I thought obama was an ok guy given our choices but this fantasy world built up around him since 2016 is rediculous.
12
@SridharC
"Israel built walls and protected themselves and inadvertently let Iran become the biggest player with sphere of influence from South Asia."
The statement above is absurd. Israel's wall has nothing to do with its deterrent power. . .and the wall works incredibly well. Before the wall--Suicide bombings every other day. After the wall--virtually none.
Regarding the other comments here, all from left wingers--half say we're weak if we don't stand up to Iran. Half say we should just get out of the Middle East altogether. The one thing they all agree on? Trump is wrong whichever of the two sides he chooses.
6
@Al I agree that it is a difficult situation. The solutions come in small increments. Obama is not perfect either but engagement as first step cannot be as bad as we project. I am not sure taking of Crimea by Russia and Middle East have the same equivalency. It was Stalin who gave Crimea to Ukraine - a Georgian giving Russian territory to Ukraine. So let us not muddle the whole thing. Complex problems need to be addressed in simple small steps. Most wars in history ended with simple first steps. Engagement with Iran is no surety of success but the alternative is far worse.
31
Iran has a much more valid claim to exercising influence in Iraq, a country with many Shia Muslims and which directly borders Iran. The US, 6000 miles away can hardly assert a valid claim or defense to 75 years of American meddling in the Middle East. We invaded Iraq for no valid reason and probably 250,000 people died. Who are we as America (whether Trump is president or not) to be using lethal force upon these people? US out of Middle East. US weapons and money out of Middle East. De-escalate. De-weaponize. But that is not the American way, here or abroad.
365
@Cliff
Btw, we also overthrew the democratically elected government of Iran and installed an evil monarch in 1953.
137
@Cliff Iraq is a sovereign country, and Iran has no role to play in Iraq. Whataboutism regarding American intervention doesn’t change that.
3
>>> "Iraq is a sovereign country, and Iran has no role to play in Iraq."
Nonsense. Iraq is a phony "country," created by the Allies from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of WWI for the benefit of the United Kingdom.
And if Iran has no role to play there, then the US has no role to play in Canada or Mexico.
54
If one looked at this without any concern about lost lives, one might think it would be an interesting chess match. However, the Middle East is a very high stakes complicated match. I don't think Trump has the knowledge to play chess, and I do fear for more unintended consequences.
Here in the United States of America, we're on the cusp of New Year's Eve. I wish, as I do every year, for peace for all in this new year as I wonder if it will ever be possible.
139
Dear Americans who think war with Iran is acceptable,
You have no idea how catastrophic such an event would be. None. I say that as a veteran of OIF and OEF. The entire Iraq war was a gigantic debacle, one that continues to resonate with fresh horrors every day.
Iraq did not have a modern professional army. Iran does. Iraq did not have multi-national support from US adversaries. Iran does. Iraq did not have a highly devoted nationalist populace who was willing to defend the Saddam regime. Iran does have a massive loyalist populace willing to defend their leadership.
If the United States engages in open hostility with Iran, it would cost the lives of tens of thousands, or potentially more than a hundred thousand Americans. It is quite literally insane to believe that war with Iran is acceptable.
619
Nobody can win a nuclear war let alone a global one. The effects will be global and catastrophic.
117
@Austin Ouellette
Since Trump has fired everyone who has critical thinking skills and is respected by other world leader he has surrounded himself with pro war and pro GOP Russians it is difficult to figure out what is truly going on. Most of the administration stories don't make any sense but it is interesting double talk.
Trump, Mr. Know it all has put our country at risk since he has gone out of his way to harm our allies with his ignorance and Putin talking points. Bolton has signed a two million dollar book deal so listening to him is worthless. Pompeo lies about everything and the GOP Senate are in a world all to themselves.
Trump does have his new buddy the murderous disgraced Navy seal to take on campaign trips, maybe he can be his new talking head on TV. A draft dodger and a murderer , who experienced great joy in killing the enemy. Photographs and all
Thank you Trump for creating the latest mess that you can't lie yourself out of. Nancy said "the times have found us"
80
@Austin Ouellette
I don't know anybody who thinks war with Iran is a good idea. Trump with all his short comings has talked tough and done little but continue the proxy war with Iran that has been going on in Syria for years. Same as isreal is doing. The stakes are too high for everybody. Iran remembers the war with Iraq and how many 100 thousands it killed. They also saw us smash Iraq in a month so they're not stupid. Americans don't have any collective memory because we farm our wars out to our "other" 1% who serve in the military. Other countries don't have that luxury. That's why they have a militia in Iraq trashing our embassy. They know better than to directly attack us. the game will go on, but it will play out in other countries. Now the Israelis, if Iran gets close to a bomb, that is something to worry about.
12
The possibility of a direct war with Iran is the direct result of Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal with that country. That action undermined a coalition of nations that could have pressured Iran and brought Iran to dialogue and possible further agreements. This go it alone attitude by the Trump administration leaves us vulnerable to the charges that we are an imperialist power and opened the way for Russia and China to exert their own influence with Iran.
The coalition formed in the Iran Nuclear Deal not only restrained that country, but prevented much of the back room deals that Iran can use as leverage to undermine our position in the middle east. If Trump decides to fight Iran his administration will go it alone without those who might have stabilized the situation or helped us confront Iran.
314
@just Robert
The Obama deal was a capitulation.A nuclear Iranian Theocrasy is an existential threat to the world.
1
@Gdk The deal far from perfect was a beginning and Trump brought us back to square one without any plan how to move forward
25
@just Robert We worked long and hard on the IND and it was serving us well. Trump trashed it. Now he owns the problem, no matter how many lies he tells. We agree.
21
Trump will handle the situation in Iran the same way he handles everything else - impulsively and without much thought. And if and when things go south he will claim that it all went exactly as planned with a great result and his base will believe him.
29
How many US defeats in Iran, Iraq and Syria does it take before Lindsey Graham and Co. get the message? Only this Xmas we had Assad and the Russian air force attack the last rebel province, causing untold suffering among the population. Trump has abandoned the Kurds, just about the only rational force in that area. The Kurds sacrificed ten thousand lives to defeat Isis.
Iran/Persia is an ancient and proud nation. Never mind its clueless theocracy or the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards. Iranians want to enjoy the same kind of economic well-being and trade status as other nations. 40 years after US helicopters crashed in the Iranian desert, I really don't see that the US have got anywhere since.
Europe and Obama tried to engage Iran in efforts at nuclear non-proliferation, tried to open it up to the wider world. Peace needs sustained efforts, not swapping and changing all the time. There is a frightening lack of consistency and maturity in US policy.
21
I couldn't sleep last night, so at 3 AM I turned on the TV. Over the course of ninety minutes, on more than one cable channel, I saw a half dozen PSA spots for the Wounded Warrior Project. My experience of corporate-driven wars goes back to the Vietnam Era. My poster boy for war profiteering is Dick Cheney, whose Iraq War and Halliburton stock made him millions of dollars. Do our politicians' Wall Street portfolios contain defense contractor stocks? Does your Wall Street portfolio contain defense contractor stocks? Do you warmongers contribute to the Wounded Warrior Project? What will it take for all of our warriors to see through the war profiteers?
23
@poodlefree - It is the US Government that is responsible for the welfare of its soldiers. It is not the responsibility of private charities to do the work of the US Government and in this case, the work of the Republican Party and Donald Trump.
1
@poodlefree - And the Dick's daughter is a senator ...
I hope that this flares up enough to become Trump's Benghazi. Sure, it'd be sad for us to lose four American lives; but that's a reasonable trade-off for the hundreds or thousands of lives (both American and other) which will be saved by getting Trump out of office:
- Healthcare for all US citizens
- Foodstamps and other social services
- Fighting the opioid epidemic
- Reinstating pollution controls
- Stop inflaming the Palestinian situation
- Stop Russian aggression in Ukraine
- Stop letting Kim develop nuclear weapons
- Most importantly: Drive a nail into the coffin fo the Republican Party once and for all
Yes, in the overall picture, it's worth it.
12
We've had nothing but failures in the Middle East under all presidents starting with George Bush Jr. The whole area is a sordid mess, and I wouldn't blame Trump for what has transpired so far.
1
@RSSF - Go back to George H. W. Bush, and Operation Desert Storm to drive Sadam Hussein out of Kuwait. Sadam Hussein justified attacking Kuwait because he said they were stealing Iraqi Oil. Maybe Sadam Hussein was right. Out of that little conflict we got Timothy McVeigh and the OKC bombing. Osama Bin Laden didn't like American troops on holy Saudi land. Who knows if that was enough to lead to 9/11.
1
While I don't doubt for a minute that Trump will start a war with even less than a minute's thought, my guess is Iran will calculate that an American attack will have to wait until after he's ruined Turkey's economy, denuclearized North Korea and cashed Mexico's check for the wall.
With countless lies, treaty withdrawals and empty threats, Trump has destroyed this nation's credibility. If Trump takes us to war, only the helpless will die. In other words, Tuesday.
7
Does anyone honestly believe that Trump has any "foreign policy" or "military policy" about Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East? Trump is both incapable of and unwilling to do anything that would demonstrate productive foreign or military policy that would strengthen our country.
So why does this newspaper continue to treat Trump as if he were a sane, intelligent, decent man, who has some kind of "plan" about Iraq or the greater Middle East? He is none of these things.
What's worse - his voters know this, and they simply do not care. Trump has been able to careen this nation to the very edges of disaster - more than once - for only one reason: his base's racism.
So let's skip with trying to manufacture some reasoned assessment of Trump's "policy". The fact is, his base loves any act he takes to kill brown-skinned people, whether they be American citizens or citizens elsewhere. This is all they want from Trump.
Trump is driven by only three things: his racism, his insane hatred for his predecessor, and his desperation to stay out of prison. So for these past three years, he has done exactly what he's needed to do to keep his base. And this latest stunt in Iraq is a transparent, desperate act of a man grasping at anything to remain in office.
So Trump will continue telling his base that all their problems are caused by "those brown people", here or abroad. And he will give them the same spin to his latest military and foreign policy disaster in Iraq.
20
After 18 years of occupation, the US is finally starting to make progress in Iraq!
2
One does have to wonder why Iran, though far from angelic, is assumed to be the sole guilty party when Iraqis have plenty of reasons to despise the U.S. since Bush and Cheney lied us into the disastrous war there. The NYT and other media were naive not to see through the lies about WMD back then, but they would have to be completely blind not to call out Cadet Bonespurs on his machinations to start a war with Iran.
15
He’s the anti-Teddy Roosevelt; always speaking loudly (actually tweeting is even more weak than speaking, isn’t it?) and carrying little in the way of a stick.
8
The administration must create some coherence in their Iran/Iraq policy. Do you Trump really want out of a deeper ME conflict or not. Exit Iraq immediately is the smart move if you desire no more warring. Trump is a paper tiger with a big mouth.
“This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!”
And, reminiscent of Bush 43, trump's thinks his golfball will fix it. But that's the best he can do.
3
At least Bush did his best to spare civilians and the international order. And didnt pull out of international treaties such as nuclear weapon control treaties.
2
And when Iran ignores Trump’s impotent tweets, then what?
North Korea knows Trump is a paper tiger. Iran does, too. Yet another horrible situation that Trump has created but this one has the potential to spin out of control.
13
Trump is starting wars and conflicts across the world. Every stand he has tried to play hard ball he has lost, from tariffs to nuclear weapons. He’s a complete failure, has endangered world peace, and pushed away our allies. He has profoundly harmed the US and he must be stopped and removed from office immediately before he destroys us and starts a world war. He’s a nobody who is not worth the world dying for.
7
Trump is the new Neville Chamberlain. Trump foolishly believes that he is dealing with rational people who don't want war and certainly not war with the United States. He also believes that nations like North Korea, Iran, Russia, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are honest brokers and can be trusted when they give their word and assurances.
So self assured is Trump of his own international negotiating prowess that he totally disregards the counsel of his most experienced military, diplomatic and security counsel advisors.
Trump was a coward during the Vietnam war. He falsely created a military draft exemption by claiming he had bone spurs.
Now that cowardice extends to his position as Commander in Chief. Trump wrongly believes that all relationships with other nations, including nations at war with the United States and its friends and allies, are transactional and require no military action.
Trump is delusional, paranoid and wrong.
Obama did not understand how he created power vacuums by withdrawing American troops or by failing to act when necessary. Worse, Obama agonized over decisions that should have come quickly and with force and meaning from the President of the U.S.
Trump, cowering in the White House acts or refuses to act in an even worse manner than Obama. At least on occasion Obama put aside his reluctance and acted forcefully.
Mr. Trump is afraid. He's afraid of the losses that may occur and he's afraid of being responsible for hard decisions.
6
Thankfully, Trump won't widen the conflict or dive into a war because he's a big phony and a blabbermouth.
4
But Iran is serious, and Putin is also no nonsense.
1
With the help from Iran the world will finally get rid of trump just as what happened in 1980
Donald, stop being the lackey of Netanyahu, MBS, Kushner, and Greenblatt. They may want war with Iran, but I doubt the American people do.
8
Iran responsible for an Iraqi response to bombing Iraq?
1
If you’d like to know just how Donald Trump can foul up even more than usual and get a bunch of people killed, this is exactly how. Hopefully he’ll be out of office before the death count goes higher than the 126 he got blown up in a Iraquibasement a couple years back, but I wouldn’t count on it.
From the subhead:
" . . . but the president’s reluctance to use force in the Middle East may be creating an opening for Tehran."
And a *willingness* to use force in the Middle East would create . . . what?
A continuation of the endless, pointless, insanely-expensive bloodbath.
Well, the arms manufacturers and the mercenaries will be happy.
3
With our president impeached, this could lead to another world war.
Trump warning "anyone", in any facet, in any way, especially diplomatically or within international political mindsets, is, quite frankly: a joke ....a laugh ....a whim of a shell of a disgraced & despicable man being poked & prodded by the terrified staff surrounding him ....please
4
Indeed, “a country that depends on the ability to refine oil for its existence needs to be cautious.” We need to stop using fossil fuels!
23
Twenty/twenty foresight tells me Trump bubble in trouble with new Iraq/ Iran bloodshed, Boeing Max grounding and upcoming natural disasters that will bankrupt insurers, utilities and municipalities. We'll move towards burden sharing by combining pieces rather than fighting over them. Could happen!Love
2
So if Trump shows restraint, that’s bad; if he uses force, that’s bad; and if he’s somewhere in between, that’s bad too. What am I missing?
6
When has he used “force”?
@Michael Livingston’s The fact that we should never have allowed oil companies to drag us into their schemes in the Middle East in the first place.
1
@Michael Livingston’s
Trump’s incompetency? Trump’s total lack of decency?
Trump’s total lack of concern for other people? I think you have missed a lot!
The US needs to stop being the mercenary army for Saudi Arabia and Israel enemies of Iran, while at the same time lining the pockets of war profiteers. From 1953 when the US overthrew Iran’s elected President because he nationalized their oil which stood in the way of US/Britain corporate profits. To the first Gulf War the US friends with Saddam helped him to acquire chemical weapons to use on Iran. Then the Iraq War where the US destabilized the region.
The US needs to dramatically cut our military spending which is not keeping us safe, but helping corporations to plunder countries resources and profiteer on weapons.
73
@steve
"To the first Gulf War the US friends with Saddam helped him to acquire chemical weapons to use on Iran."
This is an accurate reporting of history which the American people have willfully ignored. The Reagan Administration knew that Saddam Hussein was using nerve gas and continued to provide the Iraqi military with pinpoint satellite intelligence of Iranian positions. The death toll from this collaboration is in the tens of thousands, with twenty thousand alone coming in one campaign in the marches outside Basra. We must understand and accept that the Reagan Administration was complicit in the deadly use of weapons of mass destruction.
16
@ten organic farms - An Iranian women once said to me, "Do you think that war would have lasted for 7 years if the US hadn't helped Sadam Hussein?"
9
"Mr. Trump faced pressure from hawkish allies in Washington to confront Iran forcefully"
Hawks created this crisis, and now want to exploit it to get what they have always wanted.
Create the crisis, and then don't let it go to waste. That's their plan.
86
@Mark Thomason
When an article regarding the ME or any potential foreign conflict is written here, the first thing I do is scroll down the reader comments to find Mark Thomason's take on the subject. Always the most insightful. Never disappoints.
1
If there is any injury, or wirse, to embassy personnel, it will be interesting to watch Fox and the GOP spin responsibility away from Trump. They’ll probably find a way to blame it on Obama.
57
@Religionistherootofallevil On the CBS 5 PM news Pompeo just blamed the North Korea situation on Obama.
6
Nothing to worry about. Since Iran and Russia are allies, and since Trump takes orders from Putin, then Putin won’t let Trump start a war with Iran.
21
Oh joy, another pointless war in the ME.
But the timing is not right. The last time the US invaded and occupied a ME country was around St Patrick's day plus or minus a week. So we will have to wait and see in roughly 10 weeks.
4
The President's Twitter bombs land with a thud in Iran. They only have an impact with his core supporters. A whole lot less tweeting and a greater degree of planning would be a good start. That would require some coherent, consistent behaviors and policies on the part of the President. Crisis mode is not a strong suit for this president.
16
This quagmire, Iran, will make Vietnam look like a cake walk. 18 years already in Iraq, thousands dead, billions spent and we end up in another war. So much for his pledge to get us out of these 'endless wars.' Of course, Trump supporter probably already believe we've won. Every family of the 50,000+ Americans who died in Vietnam should be demanding his removal from office and a return to a more normal, sane, peace seeking relationship with Iran. We were on track and this president has just derailed us.
24
If America attacks Iran, it will be Trump’s fault. Republicans have created a never ending war in the Middle East to feed its supporters in the Military Industrial Complex. We are witnessing an unnecessary conflict made up by our Government.
42
@Peter Z - I didn't see the Dems stop the wars even though they campaigned on stopping the Afghanistan war. Instead, Obama made record weapons sales to anyone who would buy them in the middle-east. We don't make anything else in this country so what do we have to export? Nothing but war.
3
Remember that there was a signed agreement with Iran. Trump reneged on the agreement because it happened under Obama. Then Trump threw sanctions on Iran via executive orders.
Any conflict with Iran is Trump's doing. Iran is, of course, upset that the US has heightened aggression against them.
This is solely happening because Trump is President. Any military activity here is due to Trump. Soldiers won't be dying for the US. They will be dying because of Trump's ego. Period.
323
@Russ
And of course, wasn't it also Obama who warned that without such an agreement, conflict and war with Iran would eventually come? The great genius who knows better than anyone manages to bring us closer to such conflict. Maybe Putin will intervene?
22
@Russ Exactly. Obama negotiated WITH Iran (you know, working together toward a common goal) and Iran was holding up their end. Trump yanked the deal because he wanted to re-do it so he could put his name on it. He loves to take credit for other people's work. I think he truly believes that a good negotiation means others have to do what he says. He doesn't understand that THAT is bullying...and the only response to bullying that people with self-respect should offer...is defiance.
He is always surprised when others stand up for their principles and defy him.
42
@Russ
Another reason for Trump pulling out of the Iran agreement was because Netanyahu wanted to squash that agreement. Donald does whatever Bibi wants.
17
When in doubt blame Hillary and cry “lock her up” has been Trump and the GOPs strategy when anything goes wrong on their watch - bits it been their watch for 3 years now and the fake accusations and lies by the miscreants are not effective against well seasoned operatives.
11
Let's go to ward so I Trump can stay in office as a war president. We have seen this movie before.
8
Trump would love to drag US into a war with Iran. The Iran deal was working, it allowed Iran to live and breath and not develop anymore nuclear capabilities, they were contained. But, because trump who is incapable of understanding and uninformed on a level not seen in any president, has pulled US out. He did not even read the agreement, going against our Generals and our Allies advice. Putting the squeeze on a powerful nation like Iran with a huge army and large oil reserves is absurd. Netanyahu was in trump's ear on this one. Now we have another hornets nest because of trump. Large groups of desperate people are a security risk!
37
Just in time for election season. He’ll shun debates and interviews from all media except fox saying he’s too busy fighting a war. The master of diversion. A war solves many of his problems.
23
Perhaps he really wants to be a war president.
He was a coward for Vietnam; his older sons and daughters are too old, or too cowardly, to voluntee; and Barron is presumably too young to get involved.
Win-win for the Trumps. Less so for the rest of America.
2
@Kathy
The sons of America's rich no longer fight in wars unless they are officers in pursuit of an ambitious military career.
In America these days fighting wars is something poor people do.
3
@Oliver - He is already in at least one war and another won't change anything. Everyone thinks that Afghanistan doesn't count as a war or something. Hello, people, he is already a war president just like Obama and Bush were. Neither party wants peace. Both parties sell more and more and more weapons to anyone and keep agitating the planet to create more hotspots creating more need of weapons.
2
Trump has been itching to go to war with Iran since he was elected. With the re-election just 11 months away, I fear he will resort to whatever he feels necessary in order to get re-elected.
Every day since Trump's been president has been unstable and nerve wracking. I swear, I don't know if my heart can take another four years of his insane inability to be at the helm of this country.
24
With all due respect to your heart Marge, it’s my mind that this Fake President is tinkering with. Four more years of constant lies, corruption, idiocy, destruction, and incompetence will force many to throw themselves off the nearest, available cliff in a massive mental breakdown. It would be called America’s Great Leap Downward.
3
@John Grillo
Hello Mr. Grillo and Happy New Year.
I think in the end, this monster of a president is tinkering with our entire being - heart, mind and body.
The best resolution for the removal of this person is to vote him out come November. Period.
2
It's hard to defend an unpopular policy when half the people in the country, and I presume more than half of the military want you in prison.
7
U.S. air strikes in Iraq, an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, ratcheted up threats against Iran, perhaps military action against Iran? Is this the price of warmonger John Bolton's silence on Ukraine? No doubt he's licking his old Iran obsessed chops. Who knew it was possible to weaken or destroy at least one policy with national and global impact every day? That's the Donald.
6
Odd is it not? The use of the word timid in this article.
That the NY Times is representing Trump's tendency to avoid throwing away a bunch of money and lives on a pointless invasion of Iran..
"Timid" hmmm......
How about representing it as "responsible". Or, "good judgement". Or, "considering the lives of Iranian civilians and American soldiers". Or, "financially responsible".
Why use the word Timid?
Certainly, Bush was totally irresponsible in his invasion of Iraq, so, by avoiding the onset of yet another Middle Eastern Quagmire why is Trump timid?
Is the NY Times somehow invested in continuous, widening, irresponsible war in the Middle East?
Honestly, there can be no other answer than yes.
9
@The NYT has consistently pursued this agenda since Irak war.
1
"Mr. Trump has not spoken to reporters since Christmas Eve."
And what a blessed relief it's been.
53
The article, as does the Trump administration, frames the current crisis in terms of USA v. Iran. It omits the Iraqi dimensions of the story, does not question how/why the Trump people are so sure that Iran was responsible for the attack in Kirkuk, and neglect the critical point that the Iraqi parliament is on the edge of asking the US to withdraw its troops. And if this happens ... what will Trump (and the New York Times) do. Prof. Juan Cole has some useful insights at https://www.juancole.com/2019/12/government-reviewing-relationship.html?fbclid=IwAR0bIHyjZHjdsasO12Xhou81rpo4IQfEE7TEHkCAkuUJ07n3zYf7y1raSCY
1
Trump is going to be a loser no matter which way he goes on the Iranian conflict. if he chooses to escalate against Iran the US will see an incredible loss of life and resources. If he decides to pull out of Iraq and close the embassy he will look like a coward to the hardliners. Our Mighty Tweeter may be shown to be a twit. No doubt Russia will come to Iran's aid if the US decides to invade Iran. Hypersonic weapons thrown into the mix could become devastating. Is anybody going to keep track of the environmental damage and effect on climate change of the release of many more petrochemicals in the event of destruction of oil fields?
3
Trump is a funny guy.Iran bombs Saudi oil site.Trump does not help Saudis.Stops helping Kurds.Everybody knows he is not going to do anything.
5
@richard addleman Iran DID NOT bomb anything saudi -- MBS has a false flag ops team.
1
The collusion of oil companies with the Bush dictatorship caused the fraudulently manufactured Iraq War for profit that allowed oil companies to weasel into lucrative Iraq oil deals they had previously been refused. That increased our national debt by 7 trillion. Did the oil companies pay us back for that fraud that killed several thousand U.S. soldiers? No. Have they held us up for egregious gasoline prices every time the oil market went beserk from fear of war. Yes. If we're going to maintain an extremely expensive presence in the Middle East to protect these crooks, they need to pay us back for using the People's military and other resources to keep their competitors at bay. Don't pay one more penny of taxes to give these weasels free military protection so they can get filthy rich cheating and killing both the People of the U.S. and others in the Middle East. The U.S. is self-sufficient in oil production but they sell that production overseas which drives prices up here. Either reimburse the People for the money these weasels embezzle through our stupid government or leave them to fend for themselves. If they want to get filthy rich over there, they can pay the costs for doing business over there because the American People REFUSE TO PAY THEIR BILLS ANYMORE.
3
George W. Bush started this and this president is continuing the tradition. He wants a war with Iran so badly so that We, the People, forget about the upcoming impeachment. Distract and deflect. If he provokes Iran again with a war, how many Afghanistan and Iraq wars Veterans are going to support him on this one? It does not look like the average ignorant MAGA hat crowd is ready for this one. Will Congress step up and say NO to this inept, corrupt and so clueless president?
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@SDW Nah.
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@SDW Let the Maga guys go over there, but they are mostly cowards anyway.
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TRANSLATION: Trump may start a war with Iran to improve his re-election chances.
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@Alex Cody Like Jimmy Carter famously tried?
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@Alex Cody Or Trump may hold off on starting a war until he's re-elected, then run totally wild.
@Alex Cody Another war in the Mideast would be a distraction from trump's impeachment. There is no depth to which the stable genius will not sink.
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This is a serious situation and it’s not appropriate for ridiculous tweets. The president needs to defer to his military and diplomatic experts. It would be unfortunate if we fell into a war because of some sophomoric tweet.
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@Todd Remember who we are dealing with....He will do anything to distract from impeachment! Not a man with a conscience.
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@Todd
are there any diplomatic and military experts left fro Trumpt to defer too? I mean "true" experts, not just all the "best" people that Trump keeps talking about.
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@Todd To expect common sense now from this President is to expect something he is incapable of delivering and never will be.
5
Trump is as persuasive, coalition minded and collaborative in ME as he was at NATO where he was openly mocked for his ludicrous behavior and unfitness as a statesmen
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"Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space." - Steppenwolf.
Unfortunately the clock runs out for Trump in 2020...
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@The Shredder
i think you mean 2024 unless you know something the rest of America doesn't.
1
@Norville T. Johnstone I think you mean 40% of America doesn't know.
“Fire and Fury” 2.0, this time directed at Iran by the boastful Commander Bone Spurs. Doesn’t he realize that these adversaries have his “number”?
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No, let's NOT promote cadet bone spurs to Commander, let alone right in the middle of yet another strategic error of his!
The so-called hawks can NOT wait to start another war, this time with Iran. Don’t set the world on fire, Mr. Bone Spurs.
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Does anyone believe this clown has a plan that will not make this problem worse??
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@MYDISPLAYNAME
How about a treaty with Iran that prohibited it from possessing or working on nuclear weapons? Oh, that's right, we had that just three years ago. Trump, true to his aversion to the black man in the White House for 8 years, immediately scrapped it.
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@T No. I don't think anyone thinks he has a plan...or is capable of thinking, period. Thoughtfulness and long term planning is not something our president does.
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@MYDISPLAYNAME The President is supposed to do this job. If I'm irritated at the president for not doing his job, that is my right as an American. It's not up to me to fix it. I'm smart enough to know I'm not qualified for the job.
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Trump should send in Donald Junior. He’s an excellent sniper feared by large mammals across the west and sheep around the world.
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@GM
...or how about sending in Jared? Great negotiating skills, don' cha' know.
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@GM Jared would be my pick. After all, he has solved many crisis in that part of the world with his stellar diplomatic skills.
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@GM good idea, however I suspect bone spurs are genetic...
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I wonder how many years until the US again attacks Canada and will be ready and able to burn the Whitehouse again? Maybe Trump was gifted to Americans for them to realize they aren't the exceptional race they have been indoctrinated to believe they are.
Get humble - for your own sake. Go to England, to Buckingham Palace and see the names of all the countries the Brits "owned" at one time. The names of those countries are carved in stone around Buckingham Palace. Rebel against your war mongers and vote out that fool in the white house.
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@BettyInToronto
The sad thing is that Trump (as well as most Americans) don't know enough about US and world history to understand what you're talking about....
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@BettyInToronto If is was only as easy as removing him as the CBC did in that now infamous movie many of us would relieved and cheering.
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@BettyInToronto The people speak for the Republic. The President was elected to carry out the will of the people. This is not a monarchy.
1
I'll be willing to bet if we start a war with Iran, Iraq will side with their Shia nieghborhoods next door and not with the U.S.-Saudi-Israeli axis of the phoney war on terror. And Trump in his infinite wisdom pardoning war criminals engaged in killing unarmed Muslims will not win any hearts and minds over there.
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Maybe, just maybe if we hadn't installed the murdering Shah in Iran and supported Saddam' then blown up Iraq we might not have these problems today.
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Is the NY Times advocating armed conflict? I am a bit shocked by the caption under the second picture. There is one glaring error. I have no idea how this got through the reviews of the article and I hope it is by accident because words from the NY Times really matter.
Here is the caption of a picture in the article: "A member of a local armed group, trained by Iran, attacking the American Embassy in Baghdad."
Statements like this are dangerous. I am no fan of Iran or their monstrous regime, but we should not be sucked into another war and add to the existing animus.
How would we know that this particular dude. THIS one, is trained by Iran. We don't.
Saying Iran or someone trained by Iran attacked our embassy needs solid evidence, not speculation.
The NY Times did not exactly oppose the war in Iraq until much later. Let's be careful not to slip into language in articles that is left unchecked.
It may be likely that this person is Iranian trained, but that is not based on facts.
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@Revisionist Our press today are like lawyers. They make money every time something goes wrong with other people's lives. They've known this forever but they've recently lost the ethics needed to resist the temptation to start the problems that drives their readership. They, along with our federal government, have become our most dangerous enemies.
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@Revisionist Great point. They are probably just passing along lies fed them by the administration propaganda mill.
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Trump is an international diplomacy nitwit. A clueless bus driver w/a bunch of fearful, self serving pseudo American patriot passenger administrators hanging on until its no longer advantageous. American credibility & leadership are in a bathroom garbage can.
God help us
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I don’t have anything relevant to add other than I love your ‘bathroom garbage can’ reference. Made me laugh out loud.
5
Here we go again. Can’t the President come up with something more creative than war with Iran? Better yet, when will Americans see how often this deadly but effective ploy is abused by presidents to improve their election outcomes?
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@RjW A war with Iran will be hugely unpopular. I do not believe it would be received well by the American people.
13
@Todd I think it entirely depends on how its fought.
We should be concerned that Trump will want to use everything we have to send a message.
Look who he just pardoned.
He will not want to look weak after all his boasting about our military.
This could be really really bad.
Let's hope diplomacy prevails.
7
@RjW
Who is ' we' ?
If only we lived in a divided limited different power constitutional republic of united states where the people were the ultimate sovereign over their elected and selected hired help and only Congress could debate, declare and pay for war?
Trump didn't run a covert stealthy subtle campaign.
Every American knew who Donald Trump was and was not and voted accordingl. And the same thing was true of Hillary Clinton.
Among the 63 million Americans who voted for him was 58% of the white European voting majority including 62% of white men and 54% of white women.
While among the 66 million Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton was 92% of the black African American voting minority including 88 % of black men and 95% of black women.
1
"Thousands of miles away from its own borders,the United States is causing bloodshed and destruction against the people of ____________ in the name of defending itself."
Bringing freedom and liberty to those who hate our freedoms, of course.
Same as it ever was - In the meantime our own citizens lack health care, struggle to make ends meet, live with failing infrastructure and bail out the rich with tax breaks, etc.
As we continue on this path of violence as the world's unelected policeman, I continue to be ashamed of this country.
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@Chris
The ME has no history of democracy or secular values. it does have a history backward fundamentalism and religious strife. This is why even when dicatators are overthrown there, the population usually picks a religious leader and the cycle begins again. When your baseline values and governments are based on an intolerant religious book the ME is what you get. Until Islam chooses to join something like the 20th century and has a reformation and the separation of church and state they will be mired in 7th century religious strife. Unfortunately the world is not a series of vacuums and we can't ignore them anymore than we can ignore other unpleasant places. We need to be engaged at some level. Sorting out what that will be and how is the issue.
5
@Chris The phrase "world's policeman" is an Orwellian euphemism. America with its 800 military bases around the world is, for much of the world's population, its de facto government and that government is clearly "authoritarian" using war and military interventions raining death destruction and dispossession to exert its will on reluctant populations unwilling to restructure their economies to operate the manner desired by US corporate interests. (That's the test by the way - clearly not human rights - for when the US will go to war - see Saudi Arabia and Central America.) So the US the "world's policemen if you mean "policeman" in the same corrupt violent self serving way Harvey Keitel was a policeman in "The Bad Lieutenant" or Nicolas Cage in its sequel.
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@Al
Ridiculous.
We are the 21st century version of Nazi Germany.
Unfortunately , the American Herd has been systematically brainwashed and dumbed-down by propaganda and lack of good public education.
Since the end of WWII estimates are that the United States most likely has been responsible for the deaths of between 20 and 30 million people in wars and conflicts scattered over the world.
The staggering death toll of people killed in the post-9/11 war on terror alone is running into the millions.
https://theintercept.com/2018/11/19/civilian-casualties-us-war-on-terror/
More than 70% of the American people supported the Iraq and Afghanistan punic wars and that was even before evidence was presented.
Part of the cause was GWB, part of it was the media, but a lot of it was war fever after 9/11.
What politician cares who they kill to get reelected and if the law does not make it very difficult to wage a new war they will.
The American people need to put their foot down when it comes to war powers, ultimately we the people are to blame.
It would be pertinent to bring to justice those who fomented the civil war in Syria, but the criminals will never be convicted.
They never do.
Sadly we will be waiting forever if we want to hear any mass media acknowledgement of US military crimes, much less condemnation.
As Harold Pinter said in his nobel acceptance speech in 2005, so far as MSM is concerned, there have been no such crimes.
Even as they were happening they weren't happening.
30
Sounds like the Iran war hawks are gaining influence with Trump. If they succeed in touching off a full-scale war with Iran, it will make the Iraq war look like a garden party soiree by comparison.
When Trump tore up the nuclear pact and declared economic war on Iran, he set the stage for more turmoil. At a time when most Americans are dubious about our role in the Middle East anyway, another catastrophic Mideast war could cost Trump the election.
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@Mark McIntyre Gee, did he short the DJI today? A war will make him trillions! $$$$$$$$$$$$$
5
I'm not sure a thousand or so miscreants spray painting the walls of our Baghdad embassy are representative of the Iraqi populace. In the preceding weeks anti-government protesters have made clear their disdain for Iran's influence over Iraqi leadership and its ensuing corruption. Many of them have been gunned down.
The airstrikes against Iran's mercenaries was an effective message and demonstration that the US can surgically eliminate Iran's proxies. The measured response by the Iraqi militia demonstrates their weakness. Given their military impotence, Iran will no doubt resort to its old tactics of employing suicide bombers and dispersing IEDs. Our troops are being put in harms way.
Military tactics aside, President Trump must decide whether there is a consensus among Iraqi citizens to become a truly independent, quasi democratic nation worthy of risking our young or a vassal state beholden to the extremists in Tehran that should be left to devolve into the authoritarian state Iran's Mullahs demand .
@tim k Trump can't even spell consensus. He is a consensus of one. US elected him to make the choice to begin WW III. What were we thinking????
1
I would not put it past the President to start an armed conflict to increase the probability of reelection. Some of his behaviors make plain sense in this light.
12
What does it mean to hold Iran "fully responsible?" Is it anything more than just bluster?
15
“To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!” Mr. Trump implored on Twitter as demonstrators set up camp at the gates of the American Embassy in Baghdad.
Let's see if he can weasel himself out of this. After going after Hillary it only seems proper that he be held accountable for the Iraqi uprising.
6
@Gdnrbob Trump is responsible for nothing that doesn’t make him look good or pad his pocketbook. This is just another such situation. He’ll blame the Iraqis for not fighting for their freedom. Just watch.
1
Gaddafi Lybia. Assad's Syria.
Saddam Iraq. We sure like to regime change to promote stability.
15
Glad Mr. Kushner got that whole Middle East thing straightened out. . . . what a foreign policy mess.
478
@vm
The entire Middle East is complicated. Who knew?
11
Is there a "policy"? Sounds to me more like a big mouth spouting off who thinks he's tough because he has the US military at his back showing off on the playground of the world with no rhyme or reason. It's all show and it will cost us and other nations dearly in lives. Get him out, get him out now!
5
@Brian . Maybe even more than health care. Or tariffs. As you say, who knew? Only people who have been paying attention.
2
Trump is just dying for his own little war to take
America's minds off Impeachment. We have and had even less reason to hate Iran than we do Russia.
13
Considering that you can trust Trump as far as you can throw him, I would rather find out about Trump's telephone conversations he's been having with Russia's president rather than Ukraine's president.
Isn't that his main aversion to a military clash? What do they discuss, exactly, because it's not in the best interest of this country - it's in Trump's best interest. Trump's and Putins.
We really need to impeach him. I mean, what on earth is wrong with Lindsey Graham that he wasn't even that upset about the Kurds and that the Russians are now occupying where our troops were in Syria.
What is wrong with these people. Good grief.
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Even Trump will only be pushed so far when it comes to retaliation for foreign attacks on our embassies and troops in the Middle East. The reach of American bombers and cruise missiles is far and wide. The Iranian terrorists sowing dissent and anti-American rhetoric in Iraq are about to learn that there are consequences for their actions. When will the Democrats, liberals and progressives who oppose Trump at every turn realize that Iran is almost ready to finalize its nuclear weapons development, thanks to the $600 billion and nuclear technology that Obama gave them in an attempt to appease these Islamic religious fanatics?
3
@paul
You are not going to defeat Iran with cruise missiles and bombers. This is the same reasoning that caused the United States to lose the Viet Nam War.
Military adversaries of the United States have learned you don't defeat United States with direct military conflict, but with asymmetric warfare. It worked in Viet Nam, it worked on Afghanistan and it worked in Iraq. Countries have learned that if you can send enough body bags back to America long enough America will lose its will to continue a war.
2
@paul Consequences for Anti-American rhetoric? Where are the consequences to us for anti-Iranian (anti-insert-country-name-here) rhetoric? People don't like it when we bomb them. We wouldn't like it if they bomb us. You can try to figure out "who started it," but I don't think you're going to like the answer.
And Obama didn't GIVE them anything. He returned to them what was theirs, sitting in American banks but frozen due to the sanctions we put on them. They negotiated a deal; Iran complied; Obama released the hold on THEIR OWN MONEY as part of the deal.
Trump blew up the deal that Iran was honoring.
5
Withdrawal from the treaty with Iran gave Iran an opening
19